Harry Potter and the Quest for Freedom
by NitaPotter
Summary: When emotions and manipulations are pushed to the limit, three unlikely people will band together. Can they find their freedom? A 5th year Alt. Universe story. NO SLASH! Will be HarryHermione.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters in this fic. They all belong to Ms. JK Rowling, Warner Brothers, and Scholastic. We don't get paid to write, we're doing it for fun and enjoyment.

_**AN: This story will ship H/H, have torture, abuse, severe angst, and other emotionally disturbing things. If this might bother you, it might be best to find another fic to read. You have been warned...**_

Harry watched the scenery as the train got nearer and nearer to Kings Cross. It always seemed to go faster on the way home, and he idly wondered if was him or if the conductor wanted to be rid of the noisy teenagers.

"Alright there, mate?" Ron asked, looking up from a chess game with Hermione.

"Yeah, just watching you win," Harry grinned, pretending to be mortally wounded when Hermione graced him with a Death Glare.

As Ron and Hermione went back to their game, Harry sat back, and thought back to the last day of classes, when he'd approached Dumbledore yet again.

_"Headmaster, I..erm...I was wondering if I could stay with Ron this summer? His mum's invited me and..." Harry began, trying not to appear as desperate as he was. "It's just, the Dursleys, they're going to be mad, still about..."_

_"Harry," Dumbledore began, offering his student a Lemon Drop, "It is more important now that Voldemort has returned that you remain with your relatives. The blood wards will protect you better than any other wards we can come up with."_

_Declining the sweet, Harry opened his mouth to try again._

_"No, Harry, now run along."_

"Harry! Harry, we're here. It's time to get off!" Hermione said, grabbing the handle of her trunk and Crookshank's carrier.

Harry sighed deeply; he really dreaded seeing his uncle again. He knew that Uncle Vernon hadn't forgotten about that incident with the Ton Tongue Toffee, nor the fireplace being blown apart by the Weasley's when the had flooed over to get him. He shivered suddenly, which was noticed by his best friend, Ron.

"All right there, mate?" Ron asked, as he looked at the drawn and pale face of his friend.

"Yea, I guess so. I suppose I'm just a little tired. Ready?" Harry tried to put a smile on his face, which must have worked, because Ron nodded his affirmative and off they went, dragging their trunks behind them.

They jumped off the train, and it was then that Harry saw Arthur and Molly there to greet their children. He watched with a twinge of sadness as Ginny ran into her mother's arms, and Ron, Fred and George were greeted with a fatherly hug and handshake from Arthur. He then noticed that Hermione was with her parents, their arms wrapped around each other in a warm greeting. Harry sighed again...this was going to be a long, difficult summer. The guilt he felt from seeing Cedric die in front of him was still fresh on his mind.

Suddenly, he felt a pair of soft arms wrap around his waist, and it startled him from his dark thoughts.

"Harry! What's wrong? Why are you still standing here? Are you ok?" Hermione asked softly. She could see that her best friend didn't want to go through that portal, and she knew what was bothering him, but she wanted him to talk about it.

Harry put on a smile for her. "I'm ok, Mione. I just wish...well...you know..." he left his sentence unfinished.

"Let's go through," Hermione suggested and took his hand and walked him though the portal. Once on the other side, Harry looked around and quickly found his uncle standing near a vending machine, his face huge, purple, and angry looking. Harry visibly paled and stiffened, but no one noticed. He then felt Hermione place her hands on his face and give him a quick kiss on his cheek. He blushed, but gave her a hug back in response.

"Thanks, Hermione. Thanks for being there for me," he choked out. "Um, if I don't write much this summer, try to remember that my uncle might not let me..." he tried to get across to her.

"Don't worry Harry, I'll write you and you can send something back then," she replied.

"Thanks, Mi." Harry offered her a little grin. It was at that moment that Mrs. Weasley came over and wrapped Harry in a hug that could almost rival Hagrid's. Harry was sure that his eyes were about to pop out of the sockets.

"Oh, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, trying to smooth down his hair. "You take it easy this summer, alright? I'll see if I can get the Headmaster to let you come over soon," she soothed, briefly wondering how it was that the Headmaster had so much control over Harry's comings and goings. Certainly it should've been his Aunt and Uncle's decision.

Harry nodded his head, getting his wind back. "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley."

"I guess I ought to go now, best not to keep Uncle Vernon waiting," Harry said, trying his best to think strong, brave, Gryffindorish thoughts. Waving to everybody, he dragged his trunk and Hedwig's cage over to where Uncle Vernon was impatiently waiting for him.

"Hullo, Uncle Vernon," Harry said, looking up at his Uncle, doing his best to keep his face absolutely neutral.

Vernon looked down at his wife's nephew disdainfully. Now the boy wasn't just abnormal, he was a murderer to boot!

"Get to the car, boy!" he snarled, pushing the teen harshly towards the auto. "And be quick about it!"

Harry nodded his head, and murmured a quiet "Yes, Uncle Vernon," and set about to dragging his trunk over to the car as quickly as he could, while not jostling Hedwig any more than he could help it.

Vernon watched as Harry struggled to lift the heavy trunk into the boot of the car. He didn't suppose that the boy looked like a murderer, but looks could be deceiving, oh yes. Very deceiving. Gleefully he thought of how much more the boy deserved his punishments.

Oh, yes, Vernon knew his wife's nephew was a good for nothing whelp. He'd seen the letter from that Headmaster Dumbledork or what ever he was. He heard about how this runt had coerced another boy into a trap. How the boy had died because of...Potter. Well, he might have to house the little criminal, but he wasn't letting him anywhere near his Dudders. No, it was back to the cupboard for Potter.

_**A/N: Hello everyone, this is Crystal and Nita. We are writing this story together and it's our first attempt at a joint adventure! We both sincerely hope that you enjoy reading this. It will be a manipulative Dumbledore, Friendly and Mentor Snape, Harry and Hermione ship, and lots of other things that we just like and will put into the fic. No flames please, but we'll take all the ideas and constructive criticism we can **_


	2. Chapter 1

As Vernon was standing there watching his nephew struggling to put his trunk into the boot of the car, he failed to notice a huge, black, shaggy dog hiding in the corner of the parking lot. The dog was watching how the cruel man wouldn't even lift a finger to help the struggling boy to lift that heavy trunk into the car. The dog, who was really Sirius Black, could remember how heavy those trunks could get, with clothes, books, and other supplies from Hogwarts. The dog growled softly, but quickly became quiet again as he noticed the boy was talking to his owl. Sirius's dog ears leaned forward to try to catch what his godson was saying.

"Hedwig, it might not be safe for you at the Dursleys. Maybe you'd better head back to Hogwarts so you'll be safe."

Harry opened the cage and let his beloved owl out so she could fly back to school.

Vernon noticed too late that the owl was in the air, flying away, and turned his anger toward Harry.

"Why did you let that owl go? Don't you need it to send messages to your freaky friends?" he screamed at his cowering nephew.

"I'm sorry Uncle Vernon, I just didn't think you'd want her at your house, so I sent her back to school." Harry was trying so hard to stand his ground, but inside he was terrified of his uncle. He knew that if he displeased his uncle in any way, he'd pay the price.

Vernon grabbed Harry by the arm and dragged him around from the back of the car to the back seat. He shoved the boy violently into the car, and slammed the door. Harry flew into the car with such force, his head hit the window on the other side, which stunned him for several minutes. He lay still, his vision fading in and out, and felt the car start moving. He knew he was in for a horrible, painful summer.

Sirius watched as Vernon grabbed his godson and threw him into the car, and then became increasingly alarmed when he never saw Harry sit up. He stood up and stepped forward just enough to see the child lying half on the seat and half on the floor of the car, with a red mark on his forehead. Before he could change into his human self, the car roared away, and Sirius sat down and howled pitifully, before disapparating away to find some help for his godson.

Sirius apparated to the cave in Hogsmeade, and became human once again. Snarling and scowling in a way that would make Snape proud, he paced the length of the cave.

_'Harry's being abused. Harry knew he was going to be abused.' _Sirius stopped, a dark look on his face. "Dumbledore put my pup in that house, with that monster!" he snarled aloud.

Transforming into Padfoot again, Sirius bounded down through the village towards Hogwarts, hell-bent on reaching Dumbledore and ripping his throat out. Yet, as he ran he realized that really murdering somebody was the last thing he or Harry needed at the moment. That could come later. Right now he needed help.

When Padfoot came near the steps he hid behind a bush and sat there, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he panted.

_'Ok, I'm here, but who do I go to?' _he wondered.

"Black!"

Sirius turned around, crouched down and was about to lunge, when he saw Snape.

"What are you doing here, you mutt? Shouldn't you be with that werewolf of yours?" Snape glared, wrapping his robes about himself, as if warding off disease, or possibly fleas. Sirius wasn't really sure.

Growling lightly, Sirius, crouched down and covered his muzzle with his paws, trying to communicate to Snape that he couldn't talk to him here as he let out a soft whine of distress.

Sighing longsufferingly, Snape, turned around. "Come with me, mutt. But kindly leave your fleas outside," he added bitterly.

Sirius rolled his eyes, but followed the Potions Master into the castle and down into the dungeons.

Sirius trailed along as he was led through a literal maze of corridors when Snape stopped suddenly and, without turning to look at the dog, said "Sit! Stay!" then proceeded to walk several meters ahead where he muttered what appeared to be a very long, complex password.

"Come." Snape snarled.

Had the situation not been so serious, Sirius might've sat down and given himself a nice long scratch, just to spite the dark man, but instead he waited patiently while the room was warded.

Finally Sirius transformed back into a human.

Snape looked at Sirius for a moment, and then responded, "Alright, you reprobate mongrel! What do you want? I have potions to brew for the infirmary, spying to do for Dumbledore, lessons to plan..."

He never got to finish his tirade as Sirius stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar of his robe.

"Snape, for once in your life, shut up! Harry's in trouble. I was just there at King's Cross and I saw it all," he began fervently.

Snape sneered at him for a moment, but then he asked, "Was it Death Eaters? Couldn't be so soon..."

"No, you idiot. It was Dursley. He wouldn't help the kid put that blasted heavy trunk into the boot, and when Harry released his owl, I overheard him telling her to come back to Hogwarts, because it wouldn't be safe at Privet Drive. Then, that muggle threw Harry into the back seat so hard it knocked Harry out cold. He had a lump on his forehead, and I couldn't get to him before that poor excuse for a muggle drove away." Sirius stopped for a moment to compose himself, and noticed that Snape had become very quiet. Too quiet...

Snape appeared to be deep in thought. "Who put the boy into their dubious care?" he asked, almost quietly. "The Minister or the Headmaster?" He knew that it was beyond the matter at the moment, but it seemed very important to him suddenly.

Sirius looked at Snape for a moment. "All I know is that Dumbledore sent my godson to that evil monster Dursley. They're abusing him Severus. Please, help me..." He couldn't continue. He suddenly felt as if there was something important he needed to remember but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Snape raised an eyebrow at having been called Severus. "I see..." he said, and, without another word, disappeared into another room.

Sirius watched as Severus walked out of the room, wondering why he had just called his old nemesis by his first name, and why said nemesis seemed to be so concerned about his godson's welfare. He was suddenly brought out of his thoughts as the Potions Master came swiftly back into the room.

Severus walked out the door, leaving the hound to follow him if he wished to. As for himself, he was going to see what kind of trouble Potter had gotten himself into this time. If Black's allegations were true, then there was quite definitely a problem.

_**A huge thanks goes out to our reviewers to our prologue. We wish we could respond to you all publicly, but the rules forbid that, so here's a big thanks from us to you!**_

_**Don't forget to review after reading! Crystal and Nita**_


	3. Chapter 2

After about an hour of existing half in and half out of consciousness, Harry finally woke up to see that the car he was riding in was rapidly approaching Surrey, and Privet Drive. He groaned mentally, wondering what on earth he was going to do to survive the summer. He stayed laying down in the seat, hoping his uncle would just leave him alone, at least until they got to the house. Then all bets were off.

Vernon looked back into the rear view mirror to notice his nephew lying curled up in the seat, shaking slightly, his eyes scrunched shut tightly, as if to prevent any light at all from penetrating his eyelids.

'_How peculiar. Must be something they teach them at that freak school.' _His thoughts morphed over to that letter he had received from that nasty animal the other day. _'That school...How dare they think it's all right to send me a murdering, lazy, good-for-nothing, no good...Just you wait Potter. You are mine now!' _

He turned off the main highway to head down to Little Whinging and home. He noticed now that Harry had sat up, rubbing his forehead slightly.

"So, freak. You decide to get up now?" He noticed how his tone of voice had made the boy's eyes open widely, and what little color his cheeks held, now were quite pale. Vernon laughed heartily. How easy it was going to be to break this freak once and for all!

Harry sank back into the seat, wishing once more that he could have convinced Professor Dumbledore to have let him stay with the Weasleys this summer. His uncle was sitting up in the front seat laughing in a way that he'd never heard before, and it frightened him more than he wanted to admit. He'd rather face a Death Eater before dealing with his uncle. At least he'd be able to use his wand and defend himself without getting expelled.

Finally, too soon, the car pulled into the driveway, and a lumbering Vernon crawled out of the front seat and yanked open the back door, grabbing Harry by his arm and forcefully throwing him out of the car. Harry tumbled onto the ground a couple of times, then sat up and blinked owlishly at the huge man looking down at him with such contempt in his eyes.

Vernon wiped his hands on his pants, as if wiping something foul off his palms, and then hissed at the young boy in front of him, "Now boy, get that trunk out of my car and put it in the cupboard. Do it now, boy, and no funny business, or you will rue the day you were born!"

With that, Vernon turned and walked into his house, leaving Harry outside to struggle with a too heavy trunk filled with his school supplies, books, and other Wizarding goods. He hoped to be able to take his backpack out and get it to his room upstairs before anyone saw him. It contained his most prized possessions: His invisibility cloak, the photo album that Hagrid had given him in first year, and his wand. Oh, and a few galleons, knuts and sickles, just in case.

Harry finally wrestled his trunk out of the boot and slowly dragged it up the sidewalk and to the front door. He sighed deeply, took a deep, cleansing breath, opened the front door, and dragged his trunk into the house, closing the door behind him. Then all hell broke loose.

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Dumbledore sat in his office, slumped down slightly in his chair as he watched Sybil Trelawney's misty image hovering above his pensive.

**"One who has led the school of light for so long is being led astray...his flame is about to go out permanently. One who is young will become a defender of the light at a young age of a decade and one half... Yet only if the two who are dark yet light band together will the young one live," **she croaked out.

"Alas, Fawkes, I am most concerned about this. Is Headmistress Maxime wavering?" he murmured to his pet, well aware that the animal couldn't possibly understand him. "One must also wonder why our Mr. Potter is mentioned in a prophecy with Mdm. Maxime." he smirked.

Fawkes screeched and turned his back to the old man, becoming more and more fed up with the human. His human had already been led astray, there was so little light.

Dumbledore looked at his phoenix with a bemused expression. "Yes, Fawkes, it is quite disturbing."

The more the man spoke out his denial of the facts, of the truth and the light, the angrier Fawkes got. The phoenix began to smoke, causing his human some amount of confusion. After all, burning day had been just two years ago.

Finally, Fawkes burst into magical flame. The flame spread through the room, destroying the desk, the books, the papers. In a final demonstration of anger, Fawkes shrieked again, and flew out of the office, leaving a very angry, very sooty Headmaster Dumbledore in his wake.

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As Harry turned around in his now too small cupboard, he heard and saw the door slam shut and the locks click in place. Harry sat down and sighed deeply: how was he going to sleep in this tiny space, let alone how was he going to get though the summer if he had to spend it's entirety here in this spider infested hole in the wall?

It had only been thirty minutes when Harry heard the door to his cupboard being wrenched open. His uncle reached in and grabbed his arm and dragged him out, his fingers digging into the boy's arm painfully.

"Ow, Uncle Vernon! What's wrong? I've been quiet!" Harry began fearfully. He was petrified down to the core of his soul that his uncle would do something dreadful to him, which was why he let his beloved owl go back to Hogwarts. He was swiftly reminded that he was at his uncle's house as he quickly found himself on the floor of the kitchen. He sat up slowly, silently massaging his arm where his uncle had grabbed him so forcefully.

Uncle Vernon stood over his nephew, his face purple with rage. In his hand, he held the letter from Hogwarts that explained what had happened at the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

"You are a murderer. How could you lead that boy to his death?" Vernon began to scream.

Harry felt hot tears form in his eyes as he remembered that awful event. "Uncle Vernon, I didn't kill anyone. It was Wormtail. And Voldemort. He portkeyed us to this graveyard and then he killed Cedric, and...and..." Harry could no longer continue as Vernon had slapped him across his mouth. Harry tasted blood on his lips.

"You killed that boy, you freak! I got this letter from that head leader, or whatever he is, Dumbledork, or whatever...he explained it all. You murdered that boy!"

Spittle now dribbled down Vernon's chins, and Harry knew he was going to be in big trouble. He began to scoot backwards, away from the raging man in front of him. This seemed to incense the out of control man, and much quicker that one would think, Vernon pounced on the terrified boy, and began punching him about his head, face, his chest, even a well placed knee to his midsection. Harry began to have trouble breathing and quickly his vision began blurring out. His glasses had already been slung away, so he just closed his eyes. He had only two thoughts that began running though his mind: How could Dumbledore betray him like this? His second thought came to him as he succumbed to the darkness, wishing with all of his might that someone would come and take him away from this house for good.

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Fawkes flew, knowing in his heart who he would go to. Certainly, Fawkes could manage well enough without a human, but in these troubled times, he found he wanted to be of some help, if only to give some peace through song. What his old human had said some years ago about music being a great healing magic rang true to Fawkes.

As he flew over the Forbidden Forest he caught sight of his new human, running towards the point of disappearance with the man-dog. Fawkes trilled and sped up his flying, he knew that if the two men disappeared it could take a very long time to find them again.

Finally reaching the men, Fawkes landed on Severus' shoulder, cooing and trilling contentedly.

"What does that old man want now?" Severus muttered, running a finger down the Phoenix's feathers, then frowning as Fawkes bowed his head, as if sad.

Sirius stepped closer, absently stroking the phoenix's feather's as well. "What's going on, Snape?"

"How should I know, mutt?" was the only reply before Fawkes sounded out loudly in song, showing both men what had just transpired in the Headmaster's office.

Several moments later found both men sitting on a fallen tree, feelings of betrayal and anger coursing through their veins.

"What now, Snape?" Sirius asked, getting up and pacing. "Nobody would believe that Dumbledore is corrupted by his power! And what about Harry! I know that winded rhinoceros of an uncle is hurting him! Now we can't take him to the castle because who knows what Dumbledore will do!" he demanded, looking slightly deranged.

"Calm yourself, Black. I am perfectly capable of treating any injuries the boy has acquired myself," Severus snarled, inwardly cursing himself for having gone out of the cauldron and into the fire all those years ago. "What is important now is to get the blasted boy out of Dumbledore's reach. Whether I like it or not, the brat is supposed to be able to defeat the Dark Lord."

"Yes, but what about Dumbledore! He's the opposite side of the same sickle!" Sirius demanded.

Severus stood up and stalked to the pacing hound. "I know that!" he snarled. "We can only deal with one disaster at a time! Let's deal with that godson of yours first. Where can we take him?"

Sirius sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "Grimmauld Place, I suppose. It's infested, brimming with dark artifacts, and Kreacher, but it's heavily warded, and the Headmaster doesn't know of it yet. I had planned to offer it as the headquarters for the Order, however..." he trailed off. "It will do until we can come up with something else."

"Very well, now let's go." Severus barked, and turned to continue on the apparation point.

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**_A huge thank you goes out to everyone who had read our story so far, and even bigger thanks to those who have reviewed it! We really do love to find out what you think! This postings story recommendation is: For the Dead Travel Fast, by Emma Lipardi. http/ don't forget to review the stories that you've read! It really does make an author's day to read what others think of their work!_**

_**Until next time, yours...CrystalLupin and NitaPotter**_


	4. Chapter 3

Harry opened his eyes slowly, his head pounding severely. He couldn't remember quite why he felt so bad, only that he was hurting and that he felt like he was in an uncomfortable position. He realized, after a few moments, that his arms were over his head, and that he was hanging by his wrists. He finally glanced upward to see a thick heavy chain hanging down from the top of the cupboard, and then he noticed that his wrists had been bound with some kind of wire. It cut cruelly into his wrists, causing him more pain than he had ever known.

He groaned, only to notice that the sound was muffled. He then realized that he was gagged rather cruelly as well. He couldn't close his mouth at all: there was a washcloth stuffed into it, with another cloth tied tightly around his face to prevent him from spitting the washcloth out. Harry noticed how dry his throat had become at the realization that he had no way to swallow or call for help.

He turned his head down slowly and saw that his feet had been bound together with that wire, and there was some kind of chain that hooked him to the floor. He couldn't move or kick out. He noticed that his hands were no longer hurting him, and he glanced up to see why. His hands were a nasty shade of purplish blue. Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought about his friends, and his godfather, wishing someone would come save him from this nightmare. He heard the door to the cupboard open, and then felt the hot breath of his uncle on his check.

"So, you're awake now, eh? It won't do you any good, freak. You're going to hang in here until those freaks come to get you in September. If you're still alive then, I might let you leave with them. I don't think you will be. Let's see how you like this..."

Vernon began laughing that demented laugh that had frightened Harry in the car on the way back to Privet Drive. He began shaking all over, his mind no longer registering what was going on. Vernon noticed his nephew trembling and laughed even harder.

He then took a coil of wire, wrapped it around Harry's neck, then hooked the other end up on the hook with the other wire that held the boy's wrists. The only problem was that this wire was a tiny bit shorter than the other, so Harry would either have to hold his weight on his wrists, or chock himself. Vernon chuckled at his slight mistake, now congratulating himself with his ingenuity.

"Now boy, let's see you survive this overnight," he growled. Harry whimpered pitifully as he felt that wire tighten on his windpipe. He pulled his weight up a little to loosen it, but it didn't loosen up very much. He quickly realized that he was going to die in this cupboard by himself. He felt his uncle's fist slam into his head, causing him to loose his grip and he collapsed, his full weight now supported on that wire. Harry couldn't breath at that point. He barely heard the cupboard door slam shut, or the locks click into place.

His vision was rapidly fading...he had to try to survive. He pushed out with all of might with his magic, hoping that someone would feel it and come help him before it was too late. His magic did help to loosen the wire around his neck somewhat. How, Harry had no idea. He was just grateful that it did. He breathed deeply and slowly to replace his oxygen, but he was getting tired and he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep this up for too much longer. He concentrated on the one human that he knew would save him, if he could get there without getting caught first. He started silently chanting, _Sirius, I need you. Sirius, help me._

He felt his arms go numb; he couldn't feel them to hold up his weight to prevent himself from strangling. He felt the wire get tight again, knowing he didn't have the strength to loosen it again. Daylight was fading quickly outside, and so was Harry. Finally after a brave attempt, Harry passed out, his full weight hanging by his wrists, the other wire pulled tight and deeply into the boy's tender neck. All that could be heard was the short gasping breaths of a child that was slowly and painfully dying.

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About the same time as Harry has begun to chant his silent plea for help, Severus and Sirius had just received a mind jolting shock from Fawkes' appearance. As the phoenix trilled and trilled, more memories kept flooding back into both Severus's and Sirius's minds. They both sank to the ground, as they both realized just what had happened to the them both, all courtesy of Albus Dumbledore.

Sirius scowled and clenched his fists. "Blast it all, Dumbledore, how could you." he growled, ripping up grass.

"Black," Snape said, looking equally irate. "The boy, now; Dumbledore later."

"Right.." Sirius said, standing up, and looking quite menacing in his own right. "We need to get to Little Whinging, Surrey. That's where he lives. Wait a second...do you hear that?"

Severus listened for a moment, and sure enough, he heard the barely whispered call for help, and it was in Harry's voice.

Sirius stared at his friend with wide eyes, shaking slightly with anger and frustration at hearing his godson calling for help. He looked at Severus and said, "Please Severus, let's go now."

"Exactly where, Black, so we can apparate?" Snape asked, his face expressionless, betraying no emotions. It was at that moment that Fawkes trilled softly, and flew up, hovering slightly over the two mens heads.

Sirius looked at the bird, and considered what he remembered from his days in Care of Magical Creatures.

"I think he wants us to grab hold.." he said, and Fawkes offered a bright trill in response.

Both men grabbed hold of Fawkes tail feathers and in a burst of flame they disappeared from the Forbidden Forest, only to reappear seconds later on a Muggle street. A quick glance at a street sign told the men that they were at Privet Drive.

"Which house?" Snape asked his companion.

"Number Four. Let's hurry, I'm getting a very bad feeling..." Sirius replied and took off at a dead run towards the second house on the left, knowing that the Potions Master was right behind him, robes probably billowing out menacingly.

Upon reaching the door, Snape, having never been one for manners when in a temper, opened the door with a silent spell and walked in the Dursley's home as if he owned the place, with Sirius right behind him.

Sirius looked around. "Dear Merlin, you'd think he didn't live here. There's not a single picture of him...not alone, not with his cousin or his aunt or uncle..."

"Are you positive this is the correct house then, Black?" Snape asked.

Sirius shifted forms and put his canine nose to good use, sniffing and snuffling about the room. It only took seconds for the scent of blood and Harry to reach his nostrils. With a strangled whine he followed the scent to a door under the stairs. He was about to switch back to his human form when the sound of elephants stampeding made him look up.

Vernon Dursley had not been pleased when he heard voices coming from his parlor, and if there were any freaks in his house, he would show them what for. Stomping down the stairs in an attempt to make things worse for the boy under them, he pulled out a pistol and aimed it right for Snape's head.

"Get out of my house, you freaks! Out! You are breaking and entering! Nobody messes with a Dursley! Get out!" he spat, his fat face purple with rage.

Snape rolled his eyes at the obscene Muggle and carelessly flicked his wand his wand toward him as he snapped vehemently, _"Stupify!"_

"Apparently, Mr. Dursley, you were wrong, as I am absolutely not a nobody," he growled as the stupified body of Vernon Dursley tumbled noisily down the stairs.

Sirius shifted forms and whispered "Alohomora" in front of the cupboard door, then pulled it open.

"Harry..." he whispered, darting in and gently lifting his godson up so that his airway wasn't constricted anymore. The boy's sudden, if weak, gasp for air told him they hadn't been too late, but with that cloth still stuffed in his mouth, he wasn't sure if the boy was still breathing or not.

"Snape, cut the wire, for the love of Merlin!"

A quick spell severed the wire and the two gently pulled the boy out of the cupboard.

"What did that muggle do to you, Potter?" Snape muttered as he carefully charmed the wire around the boys wrists to simply disappear, figuring it would cause less damage than to pull it off manually. A simple_ Evanesce _did the trick.

He then tapped his wand on the cloth stuffed into the unconscious boy's mouth and repeated the spell. There was dried blood on the corners of the child's mouth, as well as some bruising on his face. Severus had to hold back a grimace as he watched his friend cradling the boy in his arms, willing him to breath and wake up.

"Let's get him out of here, we can finish healing him at Grimmauld Place." Sirius said, gently lifting the tiny unconscious boy. With a loud pop of air displacement, the three unlikely companions disappeared.

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_Hi everyone! We're sorry for the long wait for this chapter. Real life just got in the way! Anyway, please don't forget to review, especially if you're a new reader. And for those who have already reviewed, thank you so much! Crystal and I really do appreciate it!_

_Here's this post's recommended story: Twists of Fate by LaninDu'Undarian _

http/ Bitten by a Vampire the night Voldemort attacked, Harry Potter is believed dead. So what happens when Remus shows up at Hogwarts with a fifth year son bearing the lighting scar and the name of Lupin 14 years later? Rated T, WIP

_Thanks for reading and we'll see you next time! CrystalLupin and NitaPotter_


	5. Chapter 4

It had been several hours since Fawkes had left Dumbledore's office in a furious blaze of glory, and he still had no idea where his phoenix had gone. He had tried calling him, summoning him, and even tried to use the spell, 'Accio Fawkes', to get him back, but it was all in vain. Fawkes had gone, and deep down, Dumbledore knew that he wouldn't be coming back.

"Ungrateful phoenix. How dare he leave me after all these years of me taking care of him and giving him a place to live." Dumbledore continued to pace the floor in his office, grumbling to himself the entire time. Then he heard a bell sound from a drawer in his desk. He hurried over to it and opened the drawer to find a red crystal glowing brightly.

"Hm, it seems that Mr. Potter is no longer in his house. Damn, that boy! I wish he would just stay put in that house instead of wandering around all the time. He just got home for goodness sake. Maybe I should have a word or two with his relatives to see if they would be able to keep him in his bedroom all summer."

Dumbledore had secretly planted that very idea into Harry's relatives minds to keep him locked up for his own good. He knew that the boy's uncle was more than willing to do the job, but as far as Dumbledore was concerned, it was for the greater good. After all, he had to keep the boy around and alive long enough for him to reach his full potential so that he could syphon off his powers to himself, then he would be powerful enough to defeat Voldemort for good.

The red crystal kept shining brightly with no sign of dimming. He finally decided it was time to pay a visit to the boy's house and see why the boy had left the house this time. He fire-called his potions master, and to his frustration, found that Severus was nowhere to be found.

"I wonder where that man is? He's always in the dungeons brewing some sort of potion or another. Well, I suppose if I want to know what's going on with Potter, I'll have to go myself. I'll wait until tonight and apparate over to Privet Drive. Mr. Potter should be back in his home by then, and I'll just have to reinforce that spell on his relatives."

Dumbledore chuckled to himself as he sat behind his desk and began to sort through the mountain of year-end paper work that had accumulated. He failed to notice Minerva McGonagall standing just outside of the entranceway of his office, with a deep frown on her face_. Just what had happened to the kind, caring, and benevolent man that had been her friend for all those years_? she wondered. It seemed that Albus Dumbledore was slowly turning into a complete stranger to her, and she wasn't the only staff member to notice. Several of the other professors had mentioned it to her in private throughout the year, and after hearing what she had just heard from the headmaster's own lips, she suddenly felt that Harry Potter was not as safe as she had assumed. She hurried to her office to contact someone she knew she could trust to help her get to the bottom of this situation, hopefully before it was too late. Little did she know that it was already too late for Harry.

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Remus Lupin sat in a shabby armchair in his Welsh cottage, sipping some hot tea. As hot as the summer was, he would have preferred something colder, but it was tea time. Where was Sirius? The Headmaster sent a message saying that Sirius was on his way and should be there by tea time. The sun was setting and the old mutt was nowhere to be seen. Had dementors found him? Had Death Eaters found him? Had he found himself a girl friend? Remus snorted into his cup as that thought filtered through his mind. He decided he would give his friend another hour before he would head out to look for him. Then he received a fire call; it was his former colleague-Minerva McGonagall.

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Severus and Sirius arrived with a couple of loud 'pops' at the front door of number 12 Grimmauld Place, in London. The front door was old and heavy, and the door knob looked like a serpent's head, and it was covered with a light coating of rust. Sirius quickly opened the door and ushered his friend, who was still carrying an unconscious Harry, inside. He shut the door hastily and led the way up the old, creaking stairs to the closest bedroom on the 2nd floor. Sirius shoved the door open, and Severus hurried inside. Sirius quickly muttered a few cleaning spells and the bed was suddenly dust free with clean, fresh sheets and blankets. Severus gently laid Harry's battered body down on the bed.

Sirius yelled out for Kreacher, and an old, filthy house-elf appeared. He sneered at the man who called him for a moment before asking, "What can Kreacher do for the traitor?"

Sirius took a deep breath and slowly let it out before saying a word. Even though he had tried to calm down, he knew he would end up punching that elf before it was over.

"Kreacher, I need you to bring us up some supper, for both of us, and a basin with warm water, and some soap, and a couple of wash cloths, and some towels. And hurry!" he ordered the elf. Kreacher stood there for a moment, contemplating whether or not to obey, but when Sirius stood up to grab his arm, he popped away. "I really hate that elf," he mumbled to Severus.

Severus, however, wasn't listening. He has spelled away Harry's clothes, and was now gasping at the site of the boy's broken and bruised body. It appeared that most of his skin had taken on the color of a dark colored plum, black and blue. There were bruises all down the boy's chest and over his lower abdomen, and once Severus had moved the waistband of the boy's boxers, he saw that the poor child was even bruised in his groin area as well.

His ribs stuck out of his chest, like he hadn't eaten in a month, and upon further examination, Severus felt at least 3 of them were broken clean into. He thought back to the last month of classes, and realized that even though Harry had been at the table with his Gryffindor friends, he didn't ever see him take even one bite of food. No wonder the boy was so thin.

He heard the elf 'pop' out of the room, and then heard Sirius gasp and start cursing under his breath. He had just taken a good look at Harry now that he had his shirt taken off. Severus quickly turned his attention to his friend and tried to allay his fears.

"Look Sirius, Harry will be all right, once we get him cleaned up, heal him, and get some food into him. He was only with that abominable muggle for a day, so his thinness isn't because of them. I think he was so upset about the Tri-Wizard Tournament, he just didn't eat properly. Damn, Albus should have seen what was going on and seen to it that the boy had received the proper care." Severus kept mumbling to himself as he finished undressing his charge, and continued his exam. He didn't even notice when Kreacher came back with the items that Sirius had requested he bring.

It was at that moment that Harry began to regain consciousness and as his brain began to function a bit better, it quickly relayed that he was in pain all over, and he promptly groaned in agony. Sirius was right there by his head in an instant to hold his head still and try to offer some comfort while Severus continued to chant healing spells. But in Harry's weary condition, he just couldn't understand what was going on except one thing: He was in pain, and the last thing he remembered was hanging by his neck in his cupboard, slowly suffocating. He cried out, "Uncle, please!" but it came out a dry cough and was hardly recognizable. However, Severus heard it, and inwardly cursed Vernon Dursley and Albus Dumbledore: the first for committing the unspeakable act on his nephew, and the latter for putting the boy in that horrid place to begin with.

Severus quickly grabbed several vials of potions and spoke quietly so not to agitate the boy any further. Harry was still weakly trying to fight off the hands that were holding him, and it seemed he was reliving his experience in the cupboard.

"Sirius, will you sit the boy up slightly and help me get these potions into him? There's a blood-replenisher, one to mend his broken bones, one to heal his internal bruises, and a dreamless sleep potion."

"Sure thing Severus." Sirius quickly and gently slid his arms around Harry's thin shoulders and lifted his up enough so that he wouldn't choke on the potions that Severus was pouring down his throat. One by one each potion slid down the young boy's sore throat, and then finally, after the last one, which was a dreamless sleep potion, he slid blissfully back into oblivion.

Sirius sat down in a chair next to Harry's bed, and looked at his godson, who was now sleeping peacefully despite his injuries. His face was pale, and his long dark eyelashes stood out in contrast to his paleness. His dark hair, which normally stood out in all directions, was curiously flat, having been soaked with his own sweat while struggling to survive while hanging in that cupboard. Severus seemed to realize that his friend was sinking quickly into a dark depression, and he pulled a chair over next to him and sat down, levitating the food trays that Kreacher had brought up earlier. He handed a cup of hot tea to his friend and took one for himself.

Sirius looked up at his friend and smiled, and quickly took a long drink. He sighed deeply before speaking.

"Sev, I just don't understand all of this. Why did Albus make us forget that we were friends? Why did he put Harry with that sorry excuse for a muggle? All these years we've been harboring these vile, hateful feelings and it was all a lie! What would possess Albus to do this?" Sirius ended his questions with a painful sob that pulled at the heart of one Severus Snape. He too had questions of his own, and he also had his ideas of why.

"Sirius, I'm not quite sure why Dumbledore did this to us, but I do intend to find out. I've been noticing that he's been acting strangely for quite some time, even all the way back at our graduation from Hogwarts. I'm guessing that was when he cast whatever spell he used to make us forget about our friendship, and then planted all those 'false' memories of our hatred for each other. I regret that Lily and James went to their graves believing us all to be enemies." He stopped speaking for a moment as he remembered the way he had treated Harry since his first day at Hogwarts. He was still staring at the young boy when Sirius put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it firmly.

"Don't worry Sev, I'm sure we can figure this out. You may stay here as long as you like. I know that I'll appreciate your help with Harry here. I can heal a few cuts and bruises, but nothing like this! I can't thank you enough for what you did tonight..." Severus put a hand to stop him.

"There's no need to thank me Sirius. I was glad to help you. What do you say that we get something to eat, and get settled in for the evening? Harry should sleep all through the night and into the morning. I gave him some powerful potions and that dreamless sleep potion was laced with a pain reliever and a calming draught. I don't think he will wake up, but one of us should be here if he does."

Sirius agreed with a yawn. He smiled sheepishly at his friend. Then he had a thought.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed. "We left Harry's things at the muggle house. One of us needs to go back and get it, especially his wand."

"Indeed. I will go retrieve Harry's trunk and wand while you eat some dinner. I will return shortly to relieve you. If he starts to stir, try to give him another pain potion, the purple one. That should help him go back to sleep until morning. I shouldn't be gone but an hour at the most. I do believe I saw the boy's trunk in that cupboard." Severus then sneered at the thought of having to deal with that muggle Dursley again. He allowed himself the luxury of a smile to grace his lips.

"Sev, do be careful. I'm sure by now that Dumbledore knows that Harry's no longer there, and I don't want him to find Harry here, or anywhere for that matter. I just don't trust that man now." Sirius stood and gave his friend a pat on the shoulder before giving in and grabbing him in a manly hug. Severus felt a little overwhelmed by this display of emotion from his friend, but he also understood. He returned the gesture as best as he could, and quickly walked down the stairs, and out the front door.

He apparated back to Privet Drive and walked right through the front door. Vernon was no longer laying on the floor of the living room, much to Severus's dismay. He was hoping to have another go at the despicable muggle. He put his hand on the cupboard door to pull it open, but as he touched it, he heard wheezy breathing come up behind him. He quickly turned around to see Vernon leaning wearily on the wall, opposite the cupboard. He had a kitchen knife in his shaking hand.

Severus laughed at the absurdness of the situation and wordlessly caused the evil man to drop his knife. Vernon stood there, shaking and cursing the entire time, even as Severus hit him with another stupify. He silently slid to the floor. Severus laughed evilly and retorted, "Don't ever mess with a Snape!"

He quickly looked into the cupboard and found Harry's trunk still sitting in the corner, and as he shrunk it down and pocketed it, he couldn't help but look up to the ceiling to see that wire still hanging there, and the other wire that had hobbled Harry's feet to the floor. He just couldn't understand how anyone could be so cruel to a child in their charge. He shook his head and walked out of the cupboard, stepped over Vernon's body, and walked out the front door. He apparated back to Grimmauld Place none too soon, as just as he was leaving, Albus Dumbledore apparated into the living room of number 4 Privet Drive.

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_Hi everyone. To everyone who has reviewed the story, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It seems that my writing partner is having a bit of trouble with her muse, so I was on my own this time around. I hope you all like this chapter. I did try to include some of the things that needed a little bit of clarification . Please don't forget to read and review..._

_Thank you again for your support and loyalty. It really warms my heart to know that you all are enjoying the fic and that makes it all worth while!_

_Until next chapter, yours...NitaPotter_


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

As Dumbledore apparated onto Privet Drive, he saw the back of someone dressed in a black cloak, with long dark hair. He thought momentarily that it must have been someone there to visit the Dursleys, but then the person disapparated. He thought for a moment that the person looked vaguely familiar, but then shook his head and proceeded to the front door of house number 4. He knocked once, but before he could knock again, the door drifted open a bit.

Dumbledore frowned slightly, and pulled out his wand, not quite sure what he was fixing to walk into. He stepped into the foyer to find Vernon Dursley lying on the floor, and the door to another room that he thought was a broom cupboard standing open. He quietly stepped over Vernon's body and looked into the cupboard and was appalled at what he saw...a heavy chain hanging from the ceiling, a heavy chain bolted to the floor, several pieces of wire lying about, and a wad of cloth and a longer strip of cloth lying next to it.

He quickly decided that he needed to wake up Mr. Dursley to find out exactly what had happened. He pointed his wand and quietly muttered, _"Enervate." _In an instant, Vernon was stirring and groaning, then he finally sat up and looked right into the twinkling eyes of the headmaster.

"You freaks! Get out of my house! You've got no right here..." He was silenced as quickly as Dumbledore could wave his wand.

Vernon sat on the floor, moving his mouth in anger, but suddenly he stopped, realizing that he wasn't able to hear what he was saying. He glared up at the old man with his beady dark eyes and purple face almost ready to burst.

Dumbledore then calmly asked him, "Do you know what happened here tonight?"

Vernon nodded his head yes.

Dumbledore then asked, "Is young Harry here?"

Vernon shook his head no.

Then Dumbledore asked him, "Do you know who is with him?"

Vernon nodded his head again vigorously.

Dumbledore stood there and weighed his options...he could just cancel the silencing spell on the man and let him talk, or he could just use Legilimancy to see it for himself. He chose the latter.

He pointed his wand at the man sitting on the floor and said, "Now, Mr. Dursley, let's see what happened here once you brought young Harry home from the train station. _Legilimens!"_

Vernon's eyes took on a glazed look as he witnessed everything he had done to his nephew after he had gotten into the car, how he had beaten the child once he had gotten home, how he had knocked the boy unconscious and cruelly gagged him, wrapped wire around his wrists and ankles, and how he had dragged his nephew into the cupboard under the stairs and hung him up like a piece of meat. He also saw how he came back in the cupboard to see his nephew hanging there, his eyes closed, tears leaking down his face, how outraged he felt, and how he had twisted that short wire around the boy's neck and fastened it up to the chain hanging down, knowing it would eventually strangle the boy.

Then, as he stood outside the cupboard door, listening to the choking sounds that Harry was making, he heard the door open, and saw those 2 freaks come into his home. He watched as they tore open the cupboard door, and heard how the one freak had howled with despair. Then he saw that jet of light coming from the other man's wand, and he knew no more.

Dumbledore released the spell, and quietly muttered, _"Finite Incantatem"_, allowing Vernon to speak. And speak he did.

"That boy's freak of a godfather came here and another man, and they took the boy away. I'm glad he's gone, he was such a burden to my Dudley and Petunia. How could you put that lazy boy here in my house?" Vernon was beginning to get loud again, but a showing of the headmaster's wand quickly quieted the purple faced man down.

Dumbledore thought for a moment. It appeared that Sirius and Severus had come to rescue Harry from his uncle's rage, and it also seemed that they were working together quite friendly-like. How could it be that the spell he had cast so long ago had been broken? It would take some powerful magic to have undone that spell; not even Voldemort could have done it.

"Mr. Dursley," Dumbledore began, "How could you have done this to your own nephew? He is just a child. I realized that young Harry can find some kind of trouble to get into from time to time, but trying to kill him was not the answer." Vernon sat there in the floor, starting to shake a bit as he realized that a fully trained wizard had a wand pointed at him, and he had tried to kill one of them.

He swallowed painfully and asked in a shaky voice, "Just what do you plan to do to me? I don't even know where the boy is, or where they took him. When the other man came back and got the boy's things out of the cupboard, he didn't say a word to me, other than knock me out again with that stick-thing you guys carry."

Suddenly, the man he saw leaving when he was arriving came to mind, and a light turned on in the old man's mind. _That was Severus I saw leaving as I arrived, _he thought. He turned to Vernon and sighed.

"All right Mr. Dursley. I'll clean this mess up and set things to right. I don't think anyone else will bother you now," Dumbledore said, while he was setting things to right with his wand. In just a few flicks, the cupboard was clean, the wires and chains were gone, and it was even dust free and clean.

Vernon cleared his throat and mumbled a very low, "Thanks," and turned his back on the old wizard. It was at that moment that the wizard pointed his wand and muttered, _"obliviated,"_ and began the task of altering the muggle's memories of the evening. Once he was finished, he sent the man upstairs to go to bed. Then Dumbledore took one more look around and then walked out the front door and down to the sidewalk. He then disapparated to Hogsmeade to make the long walk back to Hogwarts. He knew he had to thing about how to get Harry Potter away from his godfather and his potions master. He had come to the correct conclusion that somehow, that spell he had used to alter their memories had been broken, and that the two men now remembered their friendship. How was he going to find them, and get control of the boy-who-lived once again? And where was his phoenix?

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Remus looked up at the clock for the third time in as many minutes and sighed. Sirius should have been here hours ago, even if he had, as the werewolf suspected, snuck off to King's Cross to see Harry once more. Remus considered this as he paced his tiny sitting room. Sirius may be a large child, but Remus knew that Harry was his greatest concern and Remus knew that Sirius wasn't about to go and do something stupid, like get himself caught and risk not being in his Godson's life again. Perhaps something had happened at King's Cross. Perhaps something had happened with Harry.

Glancing at the clock again, Remus continued to pace and think. He knew that Harry did not like his relatives, something, which at first, had shocked him. While teaching during Harry's third year, he'd watched over the pup; he knew that Harry didn't actively dislike anybody who didn't make his life miserable. Furthermore, Harry was so...hooked on James and Lily then, and now Sirius, as if there was no adult in his life. Remus had long suspected some amount of neglect toward Harry in the Dursley household, but had Sirius seen something more?

Deciding that Sirius must've seen something, as Remus could think of no other reason why his friend, who was more Slytherin than Sirius wanted to admit (like his godson..), wouldn't be here. Something had happened to Harry. Something bad, since Sirius hadn't even bothered to owl him. Remus didn't have enough warding around his cottage to keep Harry safe enough. Where would... "Grimmauld Place!" Remus exclaimed aloud as he grabbed a traveling cloak and dashed out the door. _Sirius hates that place, but he loves Harry more, _was Remus' logic.

Apparating to Grimmauld, he ran to Number 12, and finding that the door was unlocked, confirmed his suspicion. Either unaware, or uncaring of the portrait of Mrs. Black, Remus called out, "Sirius, are you here?"

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Severus reappeared with a soft pop, to find that his friend had fallen asleep with his head on the bed, his body almost falling out of the chair he was sitting in. He noticed that Harry's fingers had twined softly around the hair of the man's head, probably giving the boy some measure of comfort even though he was deeply asleep. He took the boy's trunk, and owl cage out of his pocket, unshrunk them, and left them in the corner of the room. Harry could go through it once he was feeling better.

He then heard a thud, and turned to see Sirius sitting up on the floor, massaging his head where Harry had twisted his hair around his fingers. Harry's hand now had a swatch of black/grey hair in it. Severus did his best to stifle a chuckle that was threatening to burst forth, and he almost succeeded, when as Sirius almost got to his feet, he over balanced and landed hard on his rear.

Severus couldn't contain his chuckle any longer. He laughed like he hadn't laughed in many long years. Sirius looked on with indignant fire in his eyes, but as he heard the deep baritone voice of his friend, he felt a grin sliding onto his own face, and finally joined in.

Severus finally got himself under control enough to remark, "Well, Siri, are you planning to keep practicing that one command all day? What was it I said? Ah yes...I believe it was...Sit!" This caused the normally quiet man to dissolve into another fit of laughter that finally brought tears to both of the men's eyes.

While both men were still under the throes of mirth, they failed to hear a voice calling for Sirius downstairs. Remus thought he heard someone upstairs, so he began climbing slowly, his wand at the ready. As he got closer, he recognized his friend's voice, that deep, barking laugh that meant that something really funny had happened. He thought he knew the other voice, but..._nah, it couldn't be, _he thought. He finally came upon the door to the room where the laughter was coming from and paused. He now heard the other voice clearly now. It was Severus Snape. Remus was stunned. _Why would Sirius be here with Severus, _he thought to himself.

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The two men dried their eyes, and looked at each other, both still wondering what on earth could have been so important and earth shattering that Dumbledore would have messed with their friendship. It was at that moment that Harry decided to protest all the noise in his room, as he began to moan and squirm in his bed. Severus and Sirius were at the boy's side in an instant. Harry was now running a bit of a fever, and he also appeared to be in some amount of pain. Severus grabbed several vials sitting on the bedside table and as Sirius held the boy's head up, he poured the potions down the child's throat. He helped him swallow them down, and once Harry had quieted down, Sirius carefully laid the sleeping child back onto the bed, and pulled the blanket up to his chin. He then noticed the fading black and blue hand prints on the boy's face, and he growled deeply. It was at that moment, Severus and Sirius both heard another voice that asked, "What's going on in here, Sirius?"

They both whirled around to find Remus Lupin standing in the doorway, looking at both of the men standing on either side of the bed. Remus started to ask something else, but then noticed the child in the bed.

"Is that Harry? Merlin, what happened to him? Was it Death Eaters?" He was speaking so fast that neither man could get a word in, but finally Sirius walked over to his other friend of many years and put his hands on the man's shoulders.

"Remy, yes, it's Harry. His uncle did this to him. He almost killed him. And that's not everything that's happened today," Sirius began to explain. He looked deep into Remus's eyes and found the soul of the man that he had been friends with for so long.

Sirius looked over at Severus and said, "I'm going to tell him. He won't go to Dumbledore, I know he won't. We can trust him with this. Besides, once Dursley spills the beans about who it was that came and rescued Harry, we'll need someone to go be able to get things for us...at least for the time being."

Severus thought for a moment, and as Remus looked on with shock clearly written on his face, he responded, "Go ahead Siri. I trust you, and I will also trust Remus."

Sirius looked at both of his friends and sighed. He then took a deep breath and began...

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_Hi everyone! Here's the next new chapter of our saga! We really hope that you all enjoy reading! Slowly but surely, we will be getting to the real heart of what's going on here..._

_We want to thank everyone who has taken the time to review our story, we really do appreciate every single one! I know we've fallen behind in responding to them, but we will get caught back up! Don't despair! As always, please read and review this new chapter and pass this story on to anyone else who might be interested in reading a new story!_

_Thank you all again! Until next chapter, we are yours...NitaPotter and CrystalLupin_


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

As soon as Hermione arrived at her home with her parents, she quickly helped unload her school supplies and hurried up to her room. Her mum called up to her that supper would be ready at around 7 and that she would call her then.

Hermione quickly emptied her trunk of it's contents, and then closed it and pushed it into her closet. She sat down on her bed with one of her DADA books and began to revise what she had learned during the past year, but she couldn't concentrate. A certain dark haired young man kept entering her thoughts, especially how sad he looked when it was time to get off the train. She and her parents had noticed the purple faced Uncle Vernon, and how Harry seemed to plead for help with his eyes from anyone who was looking at him. Then her parents had ushered her to their own car, and that was the last she had seen of Harry Potter.

She closed her eyes and thought of how much she liked Harry, and how clueless the boy was. She pondered whether all guys were as clueless, but then decided that she rather liked her Harry that way. It sort of made him more endearing to her. Hermione sighed, and snuggled down into her fluffy comforter and promptly fell asleep. She hadn't been asleep more than an hour when she suddenly awoken, her heart beating fiercely in her chest, but unable to remember what it was that had frightened her. It was almost like she had heard a voice in her room, pleading for help, a voice like...Harry! It was Harry's voice she had heard, but how could it have been? He was at home with his aunt and uncle in Surrey, wasn't he? And here she was at home with her parents, miles away from him...so what had just happened?

Hermione was jostled from her musings as her mum called her down to supper, so she reluctantly hopped off of her bed and went downstairs to eat, promising herself she would write to Harry after supper. She'd just ask him how he was, and make sure he knew he could call her, write her, or whatever he needed, if he wanted to. _Yes, that would sound ok, _she thought to herself, and she sat down with her parents to eat, all the while displaying a soft smile on her face, which both of her parents noticed. The Grangers looked at each other and smiled, knowing that they would have to have a chat with their daughter later this summer and find out just who this boy was that had their Hermione smiling like an angel.

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Dumbledore arrived back in his office, anger and frustration flowing off of him in waves. His perfect plan to keep the Potter boy in the house, away from his friends, and locked up and miserable, was now all ruined. How did Sirius Black and Severus Snape find out that the boy was in trouble and needed help? And what had happened that the two men were now working together as friends, or so it seemed, and how had his mind altering spell been broken? Dumbledore sat down at his cluttered desk, and leaned forward to rest his head in his hands. This is how Minerva found him an hour later.

Minerva McGonagall was a practical woman, she led an organized, practical life, practiced organized, practical hobbies, and, putting black-haired, bespectacled first years on the Quidditch team aside, was not inclined to bend rules of any sort. "It's quite early into the summer for this amount of clutter, Headmaster. Both on the desk and in your head," she commented, fully prepared for the obligatory offer of a laced lemon drop and cup of tea, which she declined.

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It had been three days since Severus and Sirius had found the almost lifeless Harry in the cupboard under the stairs, and yet the boy was still sleeping. It had been two days since Remus had gone looking for his friend and had found him at number twelve Grimmauld Place. Now the three men were taking turns sitting with the still healing child, each tending to him in their own unique ways.

It was now Sirius's turn to sit with Harry, and it was also time for another round of potions, one being a restorative potion, and the other a general healing potion, to help heal the internal damage done to the boy by his hideous uncle. It was at that moment when Sirius was pouring the second potion into Harry's mouth, he decided to regain consciousness.

Sirius was ecstatic. "Harry, Harry, wake up! It's ok now, you're safe. Come on Pronglett, open those big green eyes. That's it..."

Harry slowly opened his eyes. His body was stiff and sore, and his throat hurt. He tried to speak but found that he couldn't get his vocal cords to work. But just as quick, he found a cup of water being held to his lips and he drank greedily. He drained the cup in two gulps, thanking God for the taste of good, cool, sweet water. Someone placed a pair of glasses on his face, and the room swam into focus to reveal his godfather, Sirius, sitting on the bed next to him.

"Hi Sirius. Um...what am I doing here? What day is it? Where am I?" Harry began wondering as he took in the old room and it's dusty furnishings. Sirius was just about to answer when the door burst open and Severus Snape walked into the room.

Harry jerked suddenly as the door crashed open, the sudden rush of memories coming back to him, of how his uncle had beat him, how he had awoken in the cupboard, hanging by his hands, and how his uncle had tried to strangle him. Tears began to flow down the boy's cheeks as those horrid memories returned to him. He began to shake uncontrollably, and he curled up into a ball to try and comfort himself, something that he'd learned years ago as a child, seeing as how he never received comfort then, either. This action certainly didn't go unnoticed by Severus or Sirius.

Severus quickly drew out a calming drought and expertly poured it down Harry's throat while Sirius held his quaking godson in his lap, whispering calm, soothing words to him. After few minutes, the potion took effect, and Harry slowly opened his eyes again, this time to see his professor sitting in a chair next to his bed, and his godfather sitting on the bed behind him, holding him.

_So this is what it's like to have a father, _Harry thought to himself. He liked that warm, safe feeling that filled his very soul at that moment. He sighed contentedly and nestled back into Sirius' arms, eliciting a deep chuckle from the man. Harry had to smile, he could hear that deep laugh reverberate inside of his godfather's chest. He breathed deeply of that outdoor, woodsy smell that seemed to be a part of the man, making him feel even more relaxed.

Harry had almost dozed back off, when Sirius decided to speak.

"So Harry, how are you feeling? Are you hurting anywhere?" Sirius asked, watching his godson intently.

"Um, well, I guess I feel ok, my throat is sore, and my head hurts a bit. My hands feel a bit sore, maybe a bit numb, but other than that, I guess I feel all right. Where are we? How did I get here?"

"Well, Harry," Sirius began to explain, "I was at the train station when the Express got there, and I watched you as your uncle knocked you into the back seat of that car of his. I also saw you let Hedwig go, which, by the way, was a smart move on your part." Sirius noticed the way Harry began to sit up and wrap his arms around his legs, as if he was cold.

Then Harry asked, "How did you know that I was in trouble? Since I did let Hedwig go at King's Cross, there wasn't anyone or anything to let you know that I needed help."

It was at that moment that Severus spoke up, startling Harry immensely.

"You see Harry, Sirius came up to me at Hogwarts, and told me about what he saw at the train station, so I came with him to get you. However, we had no idea that that muggle was trying to hang you. You are a very lucky young man. Another minute, and you wouldn't be sitting here right now."

The normally angry and sour potion's master was sitting there regarding his patient with a worried frown on his face, and not one that was filled with hatred or malice. Harry was confused. Was this Severus Snape, Potion's Master of Hogwarts, sitting in the same room with himself, and his godfather, and no one was angry, fighting, or shooting hexes? And why was Snape calling him Harry? What happened to Mr. Potter? What was going on here?

Severus and Sirius both could see the tremendous confusion written all over the boy's face, and with a quick look and nod, they mutually decided to tell the boy what had happened.

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Just as they had finished telling Harry about Dumbledore's mind altering spell, and how Fawkes had somehow lifted the spell from their minds, Fawkes decided to make an appearance in the room. He appeared in a blaze of glory, and flew over and landed on Harry's lap. He immediately put his arms around the massive bird, hugging him gently and caressing his beautiful plumage. Then Fawkes began to sing, a most beauteous melody that suddenly lifted the confusion from Harry's mind, and made him feel better than he had in weeks. Fawkes also leaned his head close to Harry's face, and cried two tears, that splashed down onto the boy's lips. Harry licked them off quickly, remembering that phoenix tears could heal, and the effect was instantaneous. His wrists no longer hurt, and he could bend them easily. His throat felt normal, and all of the severe bruising from those wires that Vernon had wrapped around and around his nephew's neck disappeared entirely.

Sirius and Severus watched with open mouths as this was happening, and how quickly Harry responded to Fawkes' ministrations.

Sirius looked at Severus and exclaimed, "He looks great! Did you see that? That phoenix is amazing. Thanks, Fawkes! We really appreciate what you did for Harry."

The animagus quickly stroked the bird's feathers and stood back. Harry let go of Fawkes and looked at him, the phoenix locking eyes with the young boy. They stared at each other for only a few seconds, but it seemed much longer, then Fawkes trilled again and took off for the open window. At that moment, as Fawkes left, a beautiful white snowy owl flew in and landed on the bed next to a surprised Harry.

"Hey girl! Are you all right? You didn't go back to Privet Drive, did you? Don't ever go there again, Uncle Vernon would kill you." At that moment, a dark shadow crossed Harry's face.

"Um, Sirius, Professor, will I have to go back to the Dursleys? I really don't want to go back there. Please don't send me back there. I'll work hard here at your house, Sirius, or I'll stay with you Professor, in the dungeons, and clean cauldrons all day. Just please don't make me go back..." Harry dissolved into sobs that shook the boy's frail body. Sirius quickly took him into his arms again and held his godson tightly.

"You're never going back there again, Pronglett. I promise you, you will never have to go back to the Dursleys. Me or Severus will be here to make sure you have a place to live and be safe and happy. You should never have been placed there to begin with."

Sirius was relieved to see his friend nod his consent with his own promise to make sure Harry would never have to go back to that horrid house again.

"Harry, I know I've treated you horribly for the past four years, and even though we now know what was behind most of it, I would still like to apologize to you. You never deserved for me to treat you so abysmally, and I promise to never treat you in that fashion again. Sirius and I were cheated out of our friendship since graduation, and we've been living our lives as enemies since, all because of Albus Dumbledore. Why, remains to be seen, although I do believe we'll be finding out sooner rather than later. Be that as it may, please forgive me."

Severus looked at Harry, watching the emotions that washed across the boy's face, anger, frustration, acceptance, and finally, something else.

Harry regarded his professor of four years. Sure, it wasn't his fault that he'd been treating him like that all this time, it was the headmaster's fault. He finally broke out into a soft smile and offered his hand to his professor. Severus took it, and shook hands with the boy-who-lived, mending a broken fence that never should have been broken in the first place. Somewhere, a phoenix trilled a loud happy note of triumph.

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Hermione Granger sat at a large table in her local library, feverishly going over Math, English, Drama, Chemistry, and Psychology, a few of the subjects she would've been covering had Hogwarts not come into her life. She was not an idiot by any means; she was Muggleborn, and would likely live in between both worlds. Hermione had no intention of being anything less than prepared. _'Semper Paratus' _was a motto she'd lived by all her young life.

Unfortunately, nothing had prepared Hermione for discovering that magic was real or that she was able to preform magic. Nothing had prepared her for Harry Potter either.

Hermione stared down at the Psychology book with a frown, faintly wishing for a quill, or perhaps a Sugar Quill, she wasn't picky, but she'd gotten a habit of nibbling the end of a quill when frustrated. Harry hadn't sent a single owl yet. Granted, it was only the third day into the holiday, but Hermione had pleaded for him to promise to write regularly. Ron had already written, bravely declaring his affections for her.

Thoroughly disgusted at her inability to concentrate on the text in front of her, she tossed her pencil down and scowled at the book, as if it was responsible for all her troubles.

"Boy trouble?" a voiced broke through her thoughts. "Because you are Hermione Granger, I know you aren't having study difficulties. Boy trouble is the only thing left."

Hermione smiled despite herself. "Good morning, Emily."

"Don't change the subject, Hermione. So, who's tall, dark, and hansome?" Emily, a girl who was Hermione's childhood friend, demanded. 

Smiling, Hermione corrected her friend. "Short, pale and cute, and if you'd seen his relatives, you'd be concerned as well." She frowned. "They're horrible."

"And.." Emily pressed.

"I've told you about Ron and Harry, Emily." Hermione sighed, and gathered up her things. "Ron wrote to me, telling me he cared about me, and would like to date me."

Emily was about to loudly congratulate her somewhat socially inept friend, when she saw the frown. "But.." 

Turning to put the books in the return cart, she mumbled "But I like Harry."

"Oh..ouch, and they're best friends, Harry and Ron?" Emily asked.

"Yes."

"Ouch again. So, I'm guessing that Ron likes you, but you like Harry, and Harry doesn't realize it, right?"

Hermione laughed and nodded her head. "Yep, that's right. Now, I've got to figure out how to let Ron off without hurting him, and let Harry know that I want to be with him, without scaring him off...I just haven't figured out how to do that yet."

Emily giggled and helped her friend gather her belongings so they could go grab a bite of lunch together. "You know Hermione, why don't you just use the direct approach with Harry, and just tell him how you feel? If it's meant to be, he'll thank you for it, and you'll get what you want, Harry Potter. As for Ron, just tell him thanks, but no thanks. He'll get over it eventually."

Hermione sighed as she thought about what her friend was saying. Yes, she could send an owl to Harry and tell him how she felt, and hope for the best, but as for Ron, well, that was another crisis just waiting to happen. Maybe she could write Ginny and ask for some advice on how to break the news to Ron, after she was sure that Harry was going to return her affections. No sense in ruining all of their friendships for nothing. Satisfied with her decision, she happily skipped off to McDonald's for lunch with Emily.

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_Hello everyone! Nita here! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter out to you. Please forgive me! I wanted to thank all of you who have reviewed! I really do appreciate it so much! I can't believe how well this story is going! You guys are all so amazing! Please read and review this new chapter, and feel free to email me with any questions or ideas or comments! Take care everyone and I'll see you next chapter!_

_NitaPotter_


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It has now been four days since Harry Potter had disappeared from his relatives' house, and Dumbledore was no more closer to finding out where he was hidden then he was on the first day. It frustrated the man greatly that his plans had been completely foiled by a fourteen year old child. But what had angered him even more was that his trusted Potions master seemed to be involved, and so was that mangy dog, Sirius.

How those memory charms had been broken was beyond his knowledge, but he was starting to suspect that his phoenix must have had something to do with it. And now, it seemed as if Minerva was starting to ignore him. Well, he'd just have to do something about _that_ situation.

Once he rectified that problem, he'd start to work on the situation with Severus and Black, and that boy. He had to think of a way to get them all back into the castle, so he could get his hands on Potter again, and somehow, make sure he became dependant on him once again.

He was startled from his scheming from a knock on his door. It was Minerva.

"Ah, Minerva. Please, come in. You're just the person I was hoping to see," the headmaster crooned. He had to find out what was going on with her, and if necessary...

"Good morning, Albus. I was wondering if you had finished looking over the candidates for the DADA position for the coming school year. We don't want the ministry to appoint someone in that position," Minerva admonished.

She knew that Albus had been gone from the school for the last couple of days, but she had no idea why, or where he'd been. She also noticed that Fawkes had been missing for the last four days.

"Albus, where is your phoenix? He's never been gone for this many days before." She carefully watched her old friend, noticing his slight twitch at the mention of Fawkes.

"Well, I'm sure he's off flying around, perhaps visiting his other phoenix friends. He's been gone before for several days, and he always comes back. I'm not too concerned, but I appreciate your concern about him. Now, what were you saying? Oh yes, the appointment of a new DADA professor. How about we ask the real Alastor Moody to teach, seeing as how he missed out last year?"

"I think that's an excellent suggestion, Albus. I'll ask him myself. I also wanted to ask you, did young Harry make it home all right? I know he was devastated after the events of the third task of the tournament, and you know that his relatives won't be very understanding of his emotional state. How about we go pay him a visit one day this week? I think he would appreciate it, and it would also allow us to observe what his home life is like. You can't tell me that you haven't noticed how thin that boy is after he returns from his time with those muggles."

She paused for a moment, sure that she actually saw the old man pale slightly when she mentioned Potter's name, but then it was gone. She filed that thought away for future reference.

"I will go check on young Harry myself. Thank you for suggesting that. Now, if there is nothing else, I really do have some business to attend to."

The headmaster's abrupt dismissal seemed strange to her, but Minerva decided that perhaps Dumbledore was just a bit tired; after all, it had been a very difficult school year. She quietly muttered her goodbye, and left the headmaster's office. She quickly walked to her own office, and sat down. She knew that she could talk to Remus about her concerns, but she hesitated. Did she really want to bother him with her ideas that something might be wrong with Dumbledore, and then have it proven that she was wrong?

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Harry awoke from a nightmare that left him shaking intensely. He was dreaming about his uncle tying his hands over his head, and then wrapping a piece of wire around his neck so that he would choke to death. All the while, Vernon was laughing a deep, maniacal laugh; laughing, and laughing...but thankfully, just as dream Vernon slammed the door on a strangling Harry, he had awoken. His heart was beating painfully and quickly, while sweat shone on the boy's face. He lay still, drawing in great gulps of fresh air, finally realizing that he was not in that cupboard, but in his bed at Grimmauld Place.

It was at this moment that he felt the coolness of a wet washcloth being applied to his forehead. He jerked at first, still not quite sure what to expect, but when no fist knocked him senseless, he leaned into the caresses, his eyes still closed, but knowing that touch just the same.

"Bad dream, pup?" Sirius inquired, all the while bathing his godson's sweaty face with that cool wet cloth.

"Yea," came the soft reply. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you up? I really didn't mean to, honest!" Harry's frantic apologies tore at the very soul of Sirius, knowing what his godson had apparently endured at the hands of that abusive muggle, Dursley. He quickly pulled the shaking boy into his arms.

"Shhh...it's ok, Harry. You didn't wake me up. I was already up when I noticed you were having a bad dream. Just relax...that's it. Nothing bad will happen to you here, I promise you that."

Sirius held on to Harry, rubbing circles on his back, with one hand meshed into the boy's hair, hoping he was comforting the child. And apparently it was working. Harry's shaking finally stopped, and he began to return the embrace..

Sniffing, he spoke into his godfather's shoulder, "Thanks, Sirius. I'm sorry about losing it like that. I'm ok now."

Sirius laughed, a sound that Harry thought reminded him of a barking dog.

"It's ok, pup. I'm glad you're feeling better! How would you like to get out of this bed and take a shower, and then come eat breakfast with us in the kitchen?"

The boy's eyes lit up with relief at that simple statement.

"Thanks Sirius! I didn't realize it before, but I am hungry, and I bet I do need that shower!"

Harry sat up on the edge of the bed, and then stood up, but swayed briefly. His godfather put a hand on his shoulder to steady the boy, who looked up at him, gratefully. Then the two of them slowly made their way to the bathroom, where Harry found a complete change of muggle clothing, and a new wizard's robe, along with clean underwear and socks and new trainers! Harry closed his eyes for a second and quietly thanked whoever was listening for his godfather and the new clothes that weren't Dudley's cast-offs. He climbed into the bathtub and took one of the longest, hottest, and bubbliest baths that he had ever had.

After about an hour, Harry emerged smelling clean, but looking like a prune! He laughed at himself, noticing how wrinkled his hands were. He then heard a barking laugh outside the bathroom door, and opened it quickly. There was his godfather, sitting on the edge of his freshly made bed, staring at him!

"Aw, Sirius! Have you been out here the whole time, listening to me take a bath?" Harry inquired, his face flushing from embarrassment.

Sirius laughed again, and replied, "Well, to be honest, yes, but only for the last half hour. I came back up to make your bed and freshen the room, and I heard you in there having what sounded like a great time with the bubble maker, and I just sat down and waited, just in case you got tired and needed some help. So, how are you feeling now?"

Harry grinned and said, "I feel much better, now that I've had that bath! It helped relax my sore muscles and even made my back quit hurting. I'm really hungry now too, so can we go eat now?"

Sirius put his arm around his godson and together, they walked down the stairs to the kitchen, where Remus and Severus had laid out a virtual feast of food. Harry couldn't believe all the food that was on the table; it reminded him of how Hogwarts looked during the feasts. It was then he noticed someone else in the room.

"Harry Potter, sir! It's so good to see you up and moving around! Dobby has been so worried about you!" The elf had latched onto one of Harry's legs and didn't appear to be ready to let go any time soon.

Harry looked toward his godfather for some assistance, but was greeted with a smirk, so he looked over at Remus, who was doing his best to not outright dissolve into laughter, but losing the battle. Harry stole a glance over to Severus, who was hiding behind the Daily Prophet. Harry couldn't help but notice how the paper was shaking; obviously, Professor Snape was finding it difficult to contain his amusement too.

Harry finally knelt down so that he was eye level with his elf friend, and gave him a gentle hug. This action did get the desired result, as Dobby finally stood back, letting go of Harry's leg.

"I'm fine now Dobby. What are you doing here? I thought you were going to find some paying job to do now that you were free?"

Dobby's huge grin shrunk for a moment. "Dobby tried, Harry Potter, sir. I's tried so hard to find a paying job, but no one is wanting a freed house elf. Then, a couple of days ago, Dobby ran into Professor Snape in Diagon Alley, and he asked me to come with him to help Harry Potter, and heres I is."

Harry grinned at his friend's antics. The house elf was bouncing all around the kitchen, cleaning up the dirty pots and pans, picking up broken dishes that Kreacher had deliberately dropped, and sweeping cobwebs out of the corners of the room.

Harry smiled and grabbed hold of Dobby's hand as he made another swift pass, and once he got his attention, he knelt once more in front of him.

"Dobby, are you saying that Professor Snape is paying you to work here?"

"Oh no, Harry Potter sir. Your godfather is paying me! He's paying me 5 galleons a month, with 2 whole days off so that I can do whatever I wants to do! Sirius Black is a great wizard! Now, you'se must sit down and eat!"

Dobby pulled out a chair so that Harry could sit down at the table. It was laden down with many of the same breakfast dishes that he was used to seeing at Hogwarts, so he knew he would find extremely good food to fill his stomach with. He filled his plate with some scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, hash browns, a cheese danish, a huge glass of milk, and another glass of pumpkin juice. He had finished about half of his plate when he realized that he couldn't eat another bite. He looked down at his half filled plate and sighed deeply.

Sirius noticed how little his godson had eaten, but knew that it would be a while before Harry would be able to eat a full meal, due to his being starved at the Dursleys, and his not eating well after the third task last semester. He put his huge hand on Harry's small shoulder and squeezed it gently, letting him know that it was all right if he didn't eat the whole plate of food. Harry smiled in gratitude and drained his glass of milk, and drank about half his glass of pumpkin juice. He pushed back from the table and stood up, thanking Dobby for a great breakfast. Then he, Sirius and Severus walked back into the living room, just off from the kitchen and sat down in the huge armchairs.

Harry leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about his friends, and wondering if anyone knew where he was, or what had happened to him. It was at that moment that Hedwig came flying into the room with a letter in her beak, and landed lightly in Harry's lap. He took the letter from his beloved owl, and scratched her head and smoothed the feathers on her back. Hedwig nipped at his fingers lovingly and flew off to go eat and get some sleep. Harry looked at the letter and saw who it was from; Hermione!

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_Hello everyone! I must apologize for the lateness of this new chapter! I've been so busy and lazy at the same time...no excuse, really, but at least I've been honest!!!! LOL Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter, and I'll do my best to make the next come a lot faster than this one did!! And, a very special thank you to my friend in Christ, Jen, who helped me get the conversation with Dobby sounding just right!! Thanks a bunch!!!!!_

_I want to thank everyone who has reviewed this story so far! You guys are amazing and I really do appreciate it!!!! And for those who have read, but not reviewed, well, I'm glad that you read it, but how about that review??_

_Also, my writing partner has decided to hand the story over to me, as she is unable to continue on with me. (One of the other reasons I was late getting this one out.) Her farewell note is below. Take everyone and I'll see you next chapter!_

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_Crystal Lupin's Author's Note: Hey guys, some of you may not realize I exist, since this is on Nita Potter's account, but I'm the co-writer of 'Quest for Freedom'. Or, more accurately, I was. Several months ago I went from an evening shift to an overnight shift, and because of that, Nita and I are very rarely on at the same time, and if we are, I'm about to head on to bed. I'm of very little use to the story because of that. Something you don't know is that the first two or three chapters were written, almost entirely, in instant messenger conversations! Sadly, we just can't do that any more. For that reason I'm quitting the writing business, and leaving it all to Nita! Oh, you'll see a few of my additions in here and there since I promised Nita I'd help her out with Snapes Sarcasm! _

_To all the readers (and especially the reviewers), you've been great! I'm going to miss working on this! _

_To Nita... You go girl! It's all yours! _

_And so, to quote MASH: Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen._


	9. Chapter 8

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AN: I'm so sorry to have to embarrass myself...but I made a huge mistake! I didn't reread my last chapter and I made a huge continuity error. So, I rewrote the part that was wrong, and reposted the chapter. For those of you who have already read and reviewed, it will be a bit different this time, but it won't be necessary for you to review again, unless you just feel generous!!! I'm so sorry for this boo boo, and I'll try hard to not let it happen again!

Chapter 8

Harry looked at the letter in his hand, feeling excited, yet terrified. What if his best friend had heard about what had happened to him, and only felt pity for him? What if she was ashamed of him now and didn't want anything else to do with him? The emotions showing on his face were obvious, and it was only a moment before Sirius cleared his throat and suggested, "Well, aren't you going to read that?"

Harry looked down at the letter, finally drawing up all of his Gryffindor courage, and nodded. Sirius chuckled softly and ruffled the boy's hair and walked out of the room. Harry sighed and softly called out to his godfather a quick "thanks", to which the man gave a wave of his hand and disappeared down the hall.

The letter lay on his lap, staring at him as if it were sentient, wishing for him to open it and read it. Harry sighed deeply again and thought, _well, I might as well get this over with. If she hates me, well, it wasn't meant to be._

He carefully opened the letter to see some parchment, covered in Hermione's neat handwriting. He began reading.

Dearest Harry,

How are you? What a year we had this last term. How are you doing, really? Are the muggles treating you ok? Are you getting enough to eat? Have you been studying your old texts? Remember, we take our OWLS this year.

I really hope you're not sitting there blaming yourself for Cedric's death. It wasn't your fault, Harry. No, it wasn't. It was Voldemort's, and only his. He' s been the cause of all of your troubles since the beginning, so no more blaming yourself!!

What have you been up to since you got back home? Are the muggles treating you ok? Oh, I guess I asked that already. Do you need anything? Maybe I can come visit you for a day, and bring you whatever you need. Or, maybe I can get Dumbledore to allow you to come visit me for a few days this summer. Yes, I think that's exactly what I'll do.

You know, Harry, I don't think I've ever told you just how much our friendship means to me. Well, it means the world to me. I'm so thankful that we met that day on the train, and later on, when you saved me from that troll. I'll never forget that day as long as I live.

I guess I should end this now, so I can get a message to Professor Dumbledore and convince him to let you come stay with me a few days. Maybe I can get him to let you stay the rest of the summer with me! Wouldn't that be fun?

I'll talk to you soon, Harry.

Love, Hermione

Harry looked at the letter again, and couldn't help but grin when he read how his friend had signed her letter. _Love, Hermione._ He couldn't help but feel like something else was being said, but he didn't want to take the chance of losing his best friend if he was wrong. So, he put the idea out of his head for the time being.

He pulled out a sheet of parchment and began writing his own letter back to his friend.

Dearest Hermione,

I'm so glad I heard from you. There's so much we need to talk about, but we can't do it in a letter because I fear it would be intercepted. But here's what I can tell you: I'm not at the Dursley's anymore, but I'm safe. Don't worry about that, Hermione, I'm in good hands. But I would love to spend some time with you. In fact, there's nobody I can think of who'd I rather be with. Just don't plan it with Dumbledore! It's his fault I'm in this to begin with. If he asks, you know nothing, and haven't heard from me, okay?

Let me talk with some people and get back to you on what could work. I'm trusting you, Hermione. You're the only one I've told about this, and please don't tell Ron, either. I'm afraid he might let it slip out if he got mad, you know how his temper is. He doesn't know anything about this, only you.

I'm going to owl you as soon as I can get something worked out so maybe you can come visit me, and then I can tell you the whole story. Thank you for being my friend Hermione. I don't know what I would have done without you for the last 4 years.

All my love, Harry

Harry read over his letter and, finally satisfied with it, tied it to Hedwig's leg, and after rubbing the owl's head and giving her an owl treat, instructed her to deliver the letter straight to Hermione's hands. Hedwig nipped Harry's fingers lovingly and stretched out her beautiful white wings, and took off. Harry watched his beloved owl until he could no longer see her, then stretched out his body on the couch.

He was wondering if he had the energy to make it to the bathroom alone, and was just starting to attempt to stand, when he heard someone clear their throat behind him. He quickly twisted his neck around to see who had snuck up on him. It was Professor Snape, who was standing there with an uncharacteristic grin on his face. At first, the child was wondering who that man was that looked so much like his professor, but then he remembered what his godfather had told him about the spells that had been placed on him and his professor.

Harry finally relaxed, then decided to ask for assistance.

"Professor, um, would you, um, help me to the bathroom? I'm not sure if I'm suppose to be up walking alone yet..."

"Of course, Harry. It was very wise of you to wait for someone to come in and assist you," Severus remarked, that grin still on his face.

He then took hold of the thin boy's arm and helped him to his feet, holding him firmly when Harry swayed on his feet. Finally, the room stopped spinning, and the Professor walked slowly out of the room and down the hall with his charge. He left Harry standing in the loo, and closed the door slightly, to give him some privacy. Once the boy called to say he was done, he opened the door and escorted a very tired Harry back to his room and to his bed. Severus proceeded to tuck the child back into bed, and was going to give him a mild sleeping drought when he heard the child's stomach make some noise...a sure sign that he was hungry.

Harry looked down toward his stomach, a sheepish expression on his face as he mumbled his apologies. Severus again stunned the boy with a hearty laugh. He promptly called for Dobby, and when he appeared, had the elf bring a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich for the hungry young man.

Harry looked down at his tray of food and replied enthusiastically, "Thanks, Professor. I can't believe I'm hungry after all that food I ate at breakfast. What time is it anyway?"

Severus pulled out a pocket watch and replied, "It's about 2:30 in the afternoon, Harry. You did sleep late this morning, and we all ate breakfast with you after you got up. Your godfather and I had lunch a little while ago. We didn't call you because you were working so hard on your letter. Now, do eat your lunch, and don't worry if you can't finish it all. Remember, your stomach is still healing and we don't want you to get nauseous and throw up. You need to keep the food in your stomach, as well as the potions you've been taking."

Harry looked at his bowl of steaming tomato soup, and picked up his sandwich, so he could dip it into his hot soup. He noticed his professor eyeing him with a slight smirk on his face. He couldn't help but ask, "Ok, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Severus laughed and responded, "Oh, no reason, really. I was just thinking about how I used to eat my grilled cheese sandwiches that way, by dipping them into my tomato soup. My mother used to fuss at me about that, not wanting the red soup to drip on her white tablecloth."

Harry nodded his understanding, mainly because his mouth was full of sandwich and soup. He quickly swallowed and took a drink of pumpkin juice, which Dobby had also brought for him.

The Potions Master then excused himself from the room, so he could go get the boy his next dose of potions. Harry watched him walk away, and quickly resumed his late lunch. He managed to eat the entire sandwich, and drank half of the bowl of soup. He also drank all of his pumpkin juice. He had just finished it and sat the glass back down, when Dobby appeared with a crack, and quickly took the tray of dishes off Harry's lap.

"Thanks for bringing my lunch to me, Dobby. I really do appreciate it."

Dobby's eyes filled at the kind words that his master had bestowed upon him. He smiled at the boy, and said, "Harry Potter is a great wizard. He is so kind to us lowly house elves. It's my pleasure to be serving you, Harry Potter, sir."

Then the elf disappeared with another crack, leaving Harry shaking his head, wondering how he was going to get Dobby to just call him Harry, instead of _sir_, or _Harry Potter_.

He had almost dozed off when he heard his godfather and Severus walking back into the bedroom, and when they had come around in front of him, he noticed that their arms were full of potion vials.

Harry looked at the two men, and then at the potions they carried, and asked in a squeaky voice, "I'm not going to have to drink all of those, am I?"

Sirius noticed the panicked look on the boy's face, and quickly answered, "Of course not, pup. The only ones you need to drink now are in Severus' arms. The rest are for another day."

Harry visibly relaxed at that revelation and quickly drank down each vial that he was handed. He recognized the blood replenisher, and the nutrient booster, and the other, _what was that one again?_

"It's a mild dreamless sleep potion, Harry," Severus told him. "It will allow you to sleep without nightmares, but it will allow you to dream a few pleasant dreams. Also, it won't drug you quite as deeply as a regular Dreamless Sleep would."

Harry looked up his former most hated professor, an hint of understanding and gratitude evident in the boy's eyes. He took the last vial, looked it over, and was just about to drink, when he suddenly had an idea.

"Um, Professor, while I'm here this summer, maybe you could teach me more about potions, so I can figure out what I'm doing wrong in class."

Severus looked thoughtfully at the boy, and contemplated on whether he would be able to teach the boy properly in the house they were staying in.

Then Sirius looked over at his friend and replied, "You know Sev, the basement is so huge, and there is a potions lab set up down there, and it's probably still fully stocked with ingredients. While Harry is sleeping, we could go take a look at it and see if it's possible for you to help him. What do you say?"

Harry looked up at his professor and pleaded with him silently with his large, green eyes, so bright and innocent.

Severus took the vial of dreamless sleep and gave it to the young boy and watched him as he grimaced at the bitter taste. He took the empty vial out of his hand, and proceeded to pull the covers up over his charge noting that the potion, while not as strong as it's parent, was already affecting it's drinker.

He leaned down and whispered in Harry's ear as the potion took full effect, "I believe that can be arranged, Harry. Good night."

It was then that the men turned and walked out of the sleeping boy's room, leaving the door open in case they needed to get to him, and spelling the room to tell them if the boy had a nightmare, or otherwise became distressed in the night.

Sirius took one last look at his godson, noticing that even though the boy was asleep, his face still wore the faint grimace of pain, and fear. Not even a sleeping potion could get the boy to totally relax. He would have to mention that to his friend later, and see if there was something that they could do to help his godson. He then turned and joined his friend in the study down the hall.

Severus then asked his friend, "Why don't you come show me the way to the basement, so I can inventory the supplies? If I'm going to tutor Harry this summer, I might as well do it right. Perhaps we can ask Remus if he'll go to Diagon Alley for me to get the necessary potions ingredients, if we need anything."

Sirius nodded his head, and together, the two friends walked down the stairs into the basement of number 12 Grimmauld Place, while along the way, banishing the dust and grime from the steps, and the cobwebs from the ceiling.

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Hello everyone!!

I'm so sorry for the delay. I've been having issues with getting those letters to sounds just right...so I finally had to ask for some help from one of my authors I beta for!! Her name is Kayla, you know her as jesusfreak1011. She helped me get the letters from Harry and Hermione to each other written to my satisfaction. At least...I hope they are ok! I also wanted to thank Rhonda for looking over my chapter for me. She caught quite a few minor errors, and I thank her for it! I know this chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but it couldn't be helped, I didn't want to keep you all waiting any longer.

I want to thank everyone who has reviewed for me! You have no idea how thrilled I get when I see another review pop up for this story!!! I am so happy that you all are enjoying this story!!

Please review after reading and I'll do my best to not let so much time go by before the next update!!!

Take care everyone!! Nita


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: **

When Harry awoke the next morning, he realized right away that he felt much better. His neck and throat were no longer sore, and his wrists had completely lost the black and blue marks from where his uncle had tied him up to hang in the cupboard. His headache had finally completely dissipated as well, for which the young boy was immensely grateful. He also realized that he was extremely hungry, and his empty stomach told him so.

Harry carefully climbed out of his bed, and gingerly walked to the bathroom. He relieved himself, and washed his hands and face. Then he looked into the mirror, and gasped. His face was thin, and his eyes had dark circles under them, and were also slightly bloodshot. He really hoped his potions professor could take care of his appearance for him before he saw Hermione.

_Hermione_...just thinking her name gave Harry a safe, warm feeling in the depths of his soul. How or when he had started thinking about her in a more than friends way was beyond him, but he now knew he wanted to. He was truly excited to read her next letter to him.

It was then that Harry heard someone clear their throat, and he turned to see his godfather standing in the doorway of his room. The shaggy haired man motioned for the boy to come into the bedroom and then asked, "A knut for your thoughts?"

"I was just thinking about..." Harry hesitated for a moment, then continued. "It's Hermione. I was just thinking about her, and how much I'd like to see her. Do you think it would be all right if she could come here for a visit? She could help me with some of my homework, and, well, maybe she could help all of us. Perhaps, she could help figure out why Dumbledore did these things to you and Professor Snape, and to me." Harry's voice shook at the end of his statement, something that did not go unnoticed by the boy's godfather.

Sirius sat down on the bed and motioned Harry to come join him. The boy sat down next to the man, who wrapped an arm around the boy's now shaking shoulders.

"I tell you what, let's go to breakfast, and we'll talk to Severus and see what we can do about allowing Hermione to come for a visit. You're right about one thing: Hermione is the perfect person to do the research to figure out what Dumbledore did to us, and help us figure out what our next move will be."

Harry relaxed into his godfather's hug, but his face now had a huge smile on it. He nodded his head and together, the two walked downstairs into the kitchen. There they found Severus sitting at the table with the Daily Prophet in his hand, and a cup of coffee in the other.

"Good morning Professor Snape," greeted Harry.

"Good morning, Harry. And I've already told you, as long as we're here at this house, you may call me Severus. Now, how did you sleep? How are you feeling?"

Harry blushed slightly, and sat down near his new friend. "Um, I slept pretty well, thanks. I did have one nightmare, but I went right back to sleep. No big deal. And, I feel pretty good today. My headache is gone, my wrists don't hurt anymore, and I don't feel as tired. I did have something to ask you, though," and the boy stopped speaking and waited.

"I'm guessing you would like for those dark circles under your eyes to disappear? Am I correct?" The potions master smirked ever so slightly as Harry nodded, his eyes wide with astonishment.

"I believe I can brew up an ointment that will remove those circles. I also believe I may be able to do something about your eyesight. We can try to make your sight better, if not perfectly. Would that be all right with you?"

Harry looked ecstatic at the thought of seeing without his glasses, and quickly nodded his head yes. He was about to go hug the smiling professor when Dobby suddenly appeared and breakfast was served.

Harry looked at the table with wide eyes and laughed as he remarked, "I just love magic!"

Severus and Sirius both stared at the boy for a few seconds before laughing themselves. They quickly loaded their plates with eggs, bacon, pancakes, and many other items. Harry then dug into his plate with gusto, amusing his godfather immensely.

Soon enough, breakfast was over, with Harry draining his third glass of pumpkin juice. Sirius looked at his godson and shook his head before saying, "You know, Sev, if Harry keeps eating like this, he just might put some meat on his bones. Did you see how much food he just put away?"

Harry stilled for just a moment, afraid he was going to get in trouble for eating his fill, but after he stole a glance at his now chuckling guardian, he relaxed.

Harry decided to explain. "Well, I was never allowed to eat that much at the Dursleys. They would barely let me eat the scraps of what they were going to throw out. Heck, there were times that they did throw out perfectly good food instead of letting me eat it." Harry stopped talking, a sad, haunted look in his dark eyes, something that didn't go unnoticed by the Potions Master.

"Harry," Severus began, "You will never have to go back there, and you will always have food to eat as long as I am here to provide. No child should be starved for food when there is food in the cupboard. What they did to you is unacceptable and reprehensible. Mark my words, the Dursleys will pay for what they've done to you."

Harry sniffed, and giving into his earlier impulse, threw himself into the arms of his previously hated potions professor. The man looked startled at first, but after a moment of hesitation, he finally wrapped his arms around the youth, and gave the boy the much needed hug he was craving. Harry relaxed into the embrace and sighed deeply, breathing in the scent of his professor's robes. Sandalwood, spice, and other earthy scents filled his nostrils, and it made Harry feel safe and relaxed.

Releasing his hold on Severus, Harry looked up into his face, suddenly feeling rather silly. But seeing the real, genuine smile on the man's face relieved his fears. Then he heard a low chuckle from behind him. Sirius was standing across the room, his arms folded across his chest.

"Well, you got another one of those for me?" He asked his smirking godson.

Harry quickly ran across the room and leapt into the waiting arms of his godfather, who wrapped him in a tight embrace. After a moment, Sirius released him and the two men and teen walked into the study to plan out their day.

Severus left to get the necessary ingredients to make the oinment for Harry's face, and since Sirius was still on the run from the Ministry and unable to go with him, he decided he would work with Dobby on getting the rest of the house cleaned up. Then the man remembered something.

"Oh, Harry, remember Buckbeak?"

Harry quickly nodded his head, his face shining with love for the animal.

"Well, when you're up to it, climb the stairs all the way up to the last room on the left, before the attic. I modified the room for him, and he's living up there! I'm sure he'd love to see you, too. I just wish I could let him out to fly."

Harry was about to run up the stairs to see the animal that had saved his godfather's life in third year, then stopped.

"Sirius, Pro-, Severus, I have an idea. There are spells that are used to make humans invisible, right? Why can't we use one on Buckbeak, so he can go flying at night? As long as he knows to be back by sunrise, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Harry looked on as his potions professor looked like he had been slapped in the face. Then, a huge grin broke out on his face.

"Harry, I do believe you've got something there. A spell might wear off too soon, and it might not work at all on an animal, but a potion...I could create a potion for Buckbeak to drink every evening, and we could let him out to come and go as he wanted during the night. We'd still be able to see him, because we would know he was there, but no one else would. It could be sort of like a cross between an invisibility potion and the Fidelius Charm. That's a brilliant idea, Harry."

The boy nodded his thanks, his cheeks red with embarrassment, but secretly he was bursting with pride at being complimented so by his potions professor. Then he turned around and made his way to the top of the stairs and opened the door to Buckbeak's room.

Buckbeak heard the door opening and quickly got to his feet. He was hoping that the dog-man would let him out of the room so he could go flying and stretch his wings. However, when the man didn't come in, he almost laid back down, but he noticed a familiar form come in. It was the boy that had ridden him a while back, and the same one who had freed him while he was chained up in the pumpkin patch. He shook his head and squawked out a loud greeting.

Harry heard the loud squawk and hoped that Buckbeak was just saying hello. He quickly bowed low in front of the large animal, and waiting for Beaky to bow back, which he did very quickly. Then Beaky and boy rushed toward each other, the animal lowering his head and the boy raising his arms to throw around the hippogriff's neck. There they stood for several minutes, with Harry stroking the animal's soft feathers, offering as much touch and comfort as possible, and Buckbeak nuzzling the boy's hands and face, trying return that love.

After about five minutes of this, Harry looked around to find a trunk sitting in the corner of the room. He went over to it and opened it up, to find a stash of dead ferrets, with an apparent non-spoilage charm placed on them. Harry quickly grabbed out three of them and proceeded to throw them up in the air for the animal to catch, all the while explaining to him what he and Severus were going to do to help him go flying at night. It seemed as if Buckbeak could understand the conversation, because he was soon nodding his head at Harry, promising to hang on for a few more days until the potion could be made and tested. Harry then threw his arms around the hippogriff's neck once more, hugging him for dear life, before promising to visit again later on. Buckbeak squawked out a goodbye, and laid back down on his pallet for a rest.

Harry was quickly running back downstairs to find his godfather, when he noticed Hedwig flying in the downstairs window. She had a letter attached to her leg.

_Hermione_, Harry thought, with a huge smile breaking out on his face. Hedwig quickly flew over to his master's shoulder and stuck out her leg. She cooed to him softly and nipped his fingers lovingly and flew off to her perch to eat and drink and take a nap.

Harry quickly opened the letter and read it, his heart pounding with excitement.

_**Dearest Harry,**_

_**Of course I won't tell anyone I've heard from you. I'm glad I got your letter when I did, though. It wasn't even an hour later when Professor Dumbledore dropped by to ask me if I had heard from you yet this summer. I told him no, and then asked why. He seemed really upset about something, but all he would say was that it was really important to your safety that I let him know if I heard from you. I told him that I would, and he left. I was so nervous that he would see Hedwig upstairs, but she must have realized he was here, because she took off out the window, and then came back after he had left. She is one smart owl! I told her so, and she nipped my fingers!!**_

_**Anyway, I would love to come see you. My mum and dad even said that I could come stay with you the rest of the summer if I wanted to. They're planning to go on a special dentist convention in France the rest of the summer and they knew I wouldn't really enjoy that, so, let me know when to be there, and I'm all yours, until school starts that is. **_

_**There's some things I want to talk to you about as well, Harry. I'm glad that I will be able to come see you because I wouldn't want to write them in a letter. We can also get all of our homework done, and hopefully get our new books for next year later this summer. Please hurry and owl me back with your answer! Oh, I can't wait to see you!**_

_**Until then, all my love, Hermione**_

Harry read the letter three times, each time pausing at the those three words, _all my love, _making his heart flutter and his stomach feel like butterflies had invaded it. He laughed softly to himself before jumping out of the chair he had dropped into to read his letter, and taking off to find his godfather and friend to figure out how to get his friend her safely to Grimmauld Place.

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Dumbledore had just apparated back to his office when he found a note from the Weasleys on his desk. He quickly opened it up, hoping to find out that young Harry was there, but there was no such news in the letter. It did say that they hadn't heard from Harry, but it wasn't unusual for him not to send an owl so soon after school, mainly because of those horrid Dursleys. Molly again pleaded her case to the headmaster, begging him to allow them to go fetch the boy and bring him back to the Burrow, so he could at least be fed and clothed properly.

Dumbledore sighed deeply, mostly out of aggravation than boredom, and quickly penned a letter back to the matron, instructing her to contact him the moment that young Ronald heard from his friend. He also said it was of the utmost importance that he be contacted as soon as he had owled. He turned around to ask Fawkes to take the letter to the Weasleys, but one look at the empty perch told him that his phoenix hadn't returned. _Where had that damned bird gone, _he thought angrily, as he stomped off to the owlery. He failed to notice his transfiguration professor watching from behind a suit of armor. The woman shook her head sadly as she watched the man she had admired for so long charging down the hallway toward the owlery, hoping beyond hope that wherever Severus and Harry were, they were somewhere safe where Albus couldn't find them.

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It was later in the evening when Severus come back from his trip to obtain potions ingredients. He did not wear the face of a happy man when he was greeted by Sirius and Harry.

The boy took one look at his potions professor and said, "What happened? Did Dumbledore catch you in your office?"

Severus relaxed a bit, set down his box of supplies and replied, "No, he didn't. However, Minerva did. She said she had been waiting for me to return to my office for days now, hoping she would catch me. It seems that she has noticed that something is off with our headmaster these days." The man smirked an evil grin at this point, causing the teen to giggle.

Sirius then joined the conversation. "Well, what did she say? Does he know where we are? Oh, wait, of course he doesn't know where we are. This house is under the Fidelius and I'm the secret keeper. No one knows about this place, except the Mauraders, and the Blacks, who are all dead now, except me, you, Remus..." Sirius trailed off, his eyes opening wide with fear.

Harry quickly paled and rushed to his godfather's side, asking him what was wrong.

"I completely forgot about Peter. He knows about this place, too. Well, if he shows up, we can catch him and that will prove my innocence to the ministry. That is, if we can find someone to hand the rat over to..."

Severus thought for a moment and said, "Harry, doesn't your friend, Hermione, have a cat, a kneazle?"

"Yes, sir, she does. His name is Crookshanks. Why do you ask, sir?"

"If the rat shows up in 'rat' form, then, Crookshanks will be able to catch him for us, and then we will have our proof of your godfather's innocence."

For a second time that day, Harry launched himself into the potions master's arms, and this time, the boy did hang on for dear life, thanking his professor profusely for helping and having such great ideas. When the boy finally let go, they both had to wipe away a few tears, Harry more so than Severus. The older man quietly nodded his head and said that he needed to get that potion started for Harry's face. He quickly grabbed his box of supplies and exited the room.

Harry stared after him for a moment before feeling a hand fall gently on his shoulder. He turned to see his godfather standing beside him, his eyes suspiciously bright. Harry wrapped his arms around the man's neck, giving both of them some much needed comfort.

It was then that Harry remembered about the letter from Hermione.

"Sirius, I got a letter from Hermione today. She says she can come stay the rest of the summer with me. Isn't that great? She'll be able to help us figure out what's going on with Dumbledore, and loads of other stuff. Please say she can come stay, please?" Harry gave his best imitation of a puppy, and Sirius caved.

"Of course she can come stay. We'll have to find someone who will be willing to go get her and bring her here. I know, we'll get Remus to do it. Hermione knows him, and as far as we know, Dumbledore doesn't know he knows anything about where you are, so there's no reason to think he would be followed. Hm, are her parents going to be in town this summer?"

Harry quickly answered, "No, they're going to a convention in France for the rest of the summer. Hey, I get it! That means that Dumbledore won't be able to ask them who picked Hermione up and took her away. That's just brilliant!"

Sirius laughed at his godson and messed with his hair slightly. "Right on, pup. Hopefully, he won't think to go looking for them, either. However, if we time this right, we could go pick her up while they're not home, and they wouldn't see who picked her up, so even if Dumbledore did ask, they wouldn't be able to tell anything. Yes, I think that's exactly what we'll do. Here's what you need to write back to Hermione about the plans. Oh, and tell her to burn the letter once she reads it, just in case."

Harry quickly ran and grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and ink well, before sitting down to write out the letter with the plans for her departure later that week. Sirius laughed again at his love struck godson before walking down to the potions lab to assist Severus in making the ointment for Harry's face.

"Hey, Harry? Once you send Hedwig out, why don't come help us in the lab? This will give you some practice in potions making, and if I remember correctly, it's not a difficult potion to make."

"Ok, Sirius. I'll be there in a few minutes. And please tell Severus, thanks for me."

Harry finished up the letter to his friend and walked upstairs to his bedroom. He found his faithful familiar on her perch, her eyes bright and shining. When she saw her master enter the room, she quickly flew to his shoulder and rubbed her head on his face. The boy reached up and touched the luxoriously soft feathers on the owl's neck, scratching ever so gently, trying not to pull any of those feathers, even on accident. After she had had enough loving, she stuck her leg obediently, for the letter to be attached.

Harry then told her, "Take this to Hermione, and try to make sure you're not being followed. Just be very careful, ok girl?"

Hedwig hooted softly and nuzzled Harry's face once more before taking off out the window, ready to deliver the letter. Harry watched her until she was out of sight, before quickly taking off downstairs to the potions lab to begin his education, his real education, in the fine art of potion making. He hoped that he would find out that he was actually good at it, and that the only problem was the way that Severus had been teaching the class due to Dumbledore's spell.

As it turned out, that was exactly how it was. Harry quickly caught on to almost everything that Severus asked him to do. He asked many questions, mostly about why something had to be a certain way. Once he knew that, it was easy for Harry to dice and mince and puree' everything he had to. He even managed to get the stirring clockwise and counterclockwise down. It wasn't long before the potion turned from the watery substance it was to a nice, thick, creamy ointment, with a pleasant odor. He looked down at his instructions, read them through a fourth time, checked the consistency, and then looked up at Severus, who was also checking the same thing.

Harry held his breath while the potions master stirred the concoction, and then ladled it into a jar. When the man broke out into a broad smile, Harry finally let the air out of his lungs. He grinned slightly at the man, and broke into a full smile as the man praised him for a job well done.

"Well, it seems you can correctly brew a potion. Somehow, I always knew you could do it. Lily was great at potions. I'm so sorry I was so hard on you during your first four years..."

Harry wouldn't let the man finish. "It's ok, Severus. It wasn't your fault. Dumbledore did this, and I don't blame you at all. But, I am happy to know that I really can do this the right way. Um, when can we start using that potion?" Harry began bouncing on his feet, eager to get his face looking somewhat normal again.

"How about right now? Now, sit down, close your eyes, and I'll apply the first dose. It may have a pleasant fragrance, but make sure you don't use too much at one time. A little goes a long way with this stuff, and too much will cause the opposite effect of what you want."

"Yes sir. Not too much," Harry repeated, and closed his eyes. He then felt strong yet gentle fingers messaging the ointment into his face and under his eyes. It was almost enough to lull the boy to sleep. Way too soon, it was over, and Harry opened his eyes.

"Well, want to the results?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, please," Harry answered, a little apprehensive about what he would see in the mirror. He took the offered glass and looked into it and gasped. There were no more dark circles under his eyes, his eyes had lost the redness and puffiness they had earlier, and the scars from his beating from his uncle were gone as well. His face actually looked normal and healthy for a change.

"Wow! Thanks Severus. I look great! Um, I mean..." the poor boy started stammering after he realized what he had just said. Both Sirius and Severus started chuckling at how red Harry's face was becoming, but Sirius quickly put his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"It's ok, pup. We know what you meant. And besides, you do look great. You look almost normal now. All we need is to get some meat on your bones. We're already giving you the nutrition potion, so I'm not sure if there is anything else we can do. Is there, Sev?"

"Let me research it and get back to you. I do believe I can brew something that's not necessarily in the healer's manuals that could help in this situation. The potion you're taking now is a strong nutritive potion that will increase your appetite. Considering how much food you ate at breakfast and lunch, it is obviously working, but I might be able to make it a bit stronger so you gain more muscle without the fiat that comes along with it. But first, I'm going to work on the potion for your eyesight. I'm not sure if I can get rid of your glasses, but I would at least like to improve your eyes enough that you won't be totally blind if you lose them. Perhaps I can improve them enough so that you only need glasses for reading and studying."

Sirius responded with a heartfelt thanks, and then announced that he was going to go see what Dobby had planned for dinner. Harry decided to stay with Severus and help with the brewing of the second potion. Soon, after dicing, slicing, mincing and crushing many herbs, and some rather nasty looking insects, the potion turned out perfect once again. Severus had just given the handwritten instructions to Harry and let him begin, hoping the boy would be able to get at least halfway though it without asking for help.

The man couldn't have been prouder when the boy made the final counter clockwise stir of the glass rod and raised it out of the potion and let the drop on the end fall into the cauldron. _Just like Lily, _he thought with a pain in his heart.

Once that drop had hit the surface of the potion, it turned from the clear liquid, to a pale blue color, just like the instructions had predicted. Harry looked over at his professor to find the man standing there with a vial in hand. Harry quickly ladled out a dose of the potion into the vial, noticing the beautiful light blue color of it. Severus quickly looked at the vial, holding it up to the light to examine the color and consistency. After a few tense moments, the man broke out into another broad smile and handed the vial to the teen standing in front of him.

"Perfect, Harry. I couldn't have done it better myself," Severus praised the boy. Harry blushed slightly as he said thanks, and then looked expectantly at the vial and then at the potions master. Severus nodded his head for him to drink the potion, so he did.

Harry almost spit it back out, the taste was so horrible, But, after his experience with the Skel-gro back in his second year, he had learned to not spit out the potions, no matter how awful they tasted. Once he had made sure it wasn't going to come back up, he grimaced and remarked, "Man, that was awful. It sure looked pretty in the vial, but it sure didn't taste pretty."

Severus smiled, with understanding showing on his face. Then he reached for an eyedropper and drew up a dropper full of the same potion.

"This is to by dropped into your eyes directly. I will drop three drops into both eyes, after which you will need to close them for exactly one minute. Then when you open them, you should notice a marked difference without your glasses. Go ahead and take them off now. Ok, sit back and open your eyes as wide as you can. Here we go."

Severus dropped the three drops of potion into both of Harry's eyes, and then the boy quickly closed them, waiting for the man to let him know when the time was up. It was the longest minute Harry had ever known. He told his professor about Hermione coming to spend the rest of the summer with them, and that Remus was going to go get her later in the week and bring her over.

Finally the minute was over, and Severus told the boy to open his eyes slowly. He handed the boy a handkerchief so he wipe the potion and a couple of tears off his face. 

Harry slowly opened his eyes and then blinked a couple of times before staring at everything. He could see perfectly! So perfectly, in fact, he had to reach up to make sure he had indeed taken off his glasses. He jumped up and ran around the room, looking at books, and things both close up and far away. He turned around to see Severus sitting on the table across the room, his amused face clear as a bell.

Harry's face broke out into a wide grin and, and for a third time that day, Harry quickly leapt into the potion master's arms. This time, Severus was ready. He wrapped his arms around the teen and squeezed tightly, showing the boy the affection and love that he had craved his whole life.

Severus felt the boy's shoulders shaking slightly and pulled back to see what was wrong. He was met with Harry's tear stained face. He became alarmed and asked, "Whatever is wrong, Harry? Did I hurt you? Are you're eyes burning, can you still see ok?"

Harry took a deep breath to calm down and then explained, "I'm all right, sir. It's just...I never thought I'd ever be able to see this good without those horrid glasses. Especially with quidditch, I'm always afraid of them blowing off my face, or getting wet from the rain. Now, I won't have to worry about it! I'll be able to see the snitch with any problem. I'll be able to see the blackboard from the back of the room without having to ask someone what's there. And, if I ever get hit in the face again by Dudley, or Uncle Vernon, or Aunt Petunia, I won't have to deal with my glasses getting broken. Thank you so much for doing this for me! I can't tell you how much this means to me."

"Harry, first of all, I didn't do anything. You made the potion yourself. I didn't help you at all. I did get the ingredients, but that's it. You made this potion all by yourself. So, secondly, no thanks are necessary. However, you may assist me in cleaning up the lab, so we can go eat dinner. I don't know about you, but I'm starved!" Severus grinned at the boy who didn't need glasses any longer. They both quickly cleaned up the lab, and then walked back up to the kitchen for dinner.

The whole time the three men were eating, Harry couldn't help but think about how lucky he was. Lucky that Sirius and Severus had found him, and he could see without his glasses, and, in a few more days, he was going to spend the rest of the summer with a girl whom he wanted to get to know much better, and hopefully make his girlfriend. He couldn't stop the soft smile that flitted across his face, and it didn't go unnoticed by either of the two men. They just hoped that the boy would find the happiness he deserved and maybe just be able to have a normal summer before having to go back to Hogwarts in the fall, where he would have to deal with Dumbledore's manipulations again.

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_Hello everyone!! Well, it's only been a couple of months, and I'm finally ready to post another chapter for you. I do hope you have enjoyed reading this one. Not a lot of action, but more bonding moments for Harry, Severus and Sirius. I think things will pick up a bit next chapter._

_Now, for those who have been reading faithfully, I thank you so much!!!!!! And for those who have been reading and reviewing faithfully, I wish I could give you all a huge hug!!! Thanks to every one of you!!!!!! I really do appreciate every review I get. I know I'm terrible about not responding to my reviews...so I'm going to do my best to start doing that! If I've already responded, I may respond again, just so you know._

_Also, thanks goes out to Kayla, who has taken over betaing for me. This will be her first beta job, so bear with her while she jumps in and gets the hang of things. Oh, Kayla is now posting her third story in the Hope series, called Living With Hope. Her penname is JesusFreak10110, and her story is on thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing...I can't thank you all enough!! It really makes my day to see those reviews in my inbox!!!_

_Thanks again, and I'll see you next chapter! Nita_


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Dumbledore was fuming. He rarely ever got this angry, and even when he was, he was able to control it by practicing Occlumency. However, with Harry Potter missing, his potion's master also missing, and his phoenix gone, he was now feeling something that was foreign to him; fear. How had that spell he had placed on Severus and Sirius been broken? Why did they take the boy away from his uncle?

Dumbledore chuckled to himself at the thought of seeing young Harry hanging in that cupboard, now looking at his memories in his pensieve. He could sit and look at the memories of Dursley and see exactly what he had done to the brat. One thing was very apparent, and that was Harry was going to be extremely powerful once he reached his maturity. The aged headmaster sighed deeply, and placed his pensieve back in its protected cupboard. It wouldn't do to have someone fall into it and see those particular memories.

After taking care of some school business, the headmaster turned his thoughts on how to find Potter and get him back to his uncle's house, where he would, once again, be under his control. But the more he thought about it, he soon realized that with Severus and the mutt working together, and hidden away somewhere, he might not be able to get control over them again until school started in the fall. Smiling to himself, he decided on a different plan of action, one that couldn't fail. He would go see Hermione once again, and place a tracking spell on her, so that if she went out into muggle London, or anywhere else, and ran into Harry Potter, he would be able to find them, and get his hands on the boy once again. Yes, that would work out perfectly. It had been almost a week since he had apparated to her home, but he knew that if anyone would be able to get in touch with Harry, it would be his best friend, and that was Hermione Granger.

Dumbledore then made plans to go see the girl later that evening. He also planned on using Legilimancy on her, just to make sure that she hadn't been lying to him. He knew just how loyal they trio was to each other, especially Hermione to Harry. Dumbledore decided he would use Imperio on her, if she wouldn't cooperate with his way of thinking. He laughed an evil laugh to himself, but was startled by the sudden appearance of his deputy headmistress, Minerva.

_How long has she been standing there_, he thought to himself. _I've got to pay more attention, or learn to lock that door. _

"Minerva, what brings you to my office," the headmaster greeted.

"I was just wondering how you were this morning, Albus. You just haven't been yourself these last few days. You've been distracted, and distant. Is there something bothering you? Is there something I can do to help you?" Minerva asked. She had been watching her old friend for days now, and had continually noticed the man's mood swings, his angry outbursts when he thought no one was watching, and had heard him muttering Potter's name. She knew that something was terribly wrong, but she just didn't know what it was, and worse, she didn't know if she wanted to know.

Albus smiled sweetly at his old friend, and his blue eyes twinkled brightly for her, as he offered her a lemon drop. He frowned slightly when she refused, but she always refused them. He often wondered if she knew that they were laced with a compliance potion, but he couldn't prove it. He would have to come up with another way to deal with her.

"Thank you for being concerned, Minerva, but I am all right. I have been a bit distracted lately, but I do believe I have gotten things under control. By the way, I'm going to be out of the office this evening. I have some business to attend to in London, and I should be back by midnight." The headmaster kept the smile on his face as Minerva smiled back at him.

"All right, Albus. As long as you're sure that you're fine. I do hope you know you may come to me if you need some assistance with something. You're not getting any younger, you know," she laughed. She then turned to leave, but felt the unmistakable aura of anger in the room. It was a gift that she had had for many years; the ability to sense emotions, and right now, Albus was literally pulsing with anger. Quite frankly, it frightened her to think he was that angry at someone.

Minerva shook her head slightly and proceeded out of the headmaster's office. She quickly found her own office, and after warding it for privacy, she floo-called the only person she knew she could trust to talk to about her suspicions: Remus Lupin.

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When Harry had went to bed last night, he was hoping beyond all hope that he would be able to get a good night's sleep with no nightmares. He was wrong.

_Harry found himself, once more, in the back seat of his uncle's car, with it literally flying out of control down the highway back to Privet Drive. Harry tried valiantly to sit up and open the door and get out of the car, but he couldn't seem to move. He looked down to see strand after strand of rope wound tightly around his body, legs, arms, torso, and to his horror, his neck. It seemed the more he struggled to get free, the tighter the ropes became, effectively strangling the terrified child. His breaths came in harsh gasps, and all he could hear was his uncle's evil, vile laugh. Just as he knew he was going to pass out, he managed to let out one long, horrific scream._

Severus had just decided to head off to bed after being up rather late brewing some potions for the school infirmary. He wasn't sure what was going to happen this year once the school year began, but he knew that regardless of what the headmaster had done, he still had a job and students to deal with. He had just passed by Harry's room when he thought he heard a gasp, and some movement. Then, just as sudden, a loud scream sounded out of Harry's room, a sound that Severus had only heard from someone who was only a breath away from dying. He pulled out his wand and rushed into the room.

He quickly found the boy laying half on, half off his bed, his bed sheets wrapped around his neck, cutting off his air supply. The child's struggles were quickly lessening, and Severus made use of his wand. He expertly vanished the sheet around the boy's neck and then lifted the limp child back onto his bed.

Sirius had also heard Harry's scream and had come rushing into the bedroom. He got there just in time to his friend placing his godson back on his bed.

"What in Merlin's name happen? He was fine when he went to bed. He was so excited to see Hermione today," Sirius began.

"It appears Harry was having a nightmare and he somehow got his bed sheets wrapped around his neck. He was slowly strangling himself. I think I got to him in time. He's breathing on his own now, the color has come back to his cheeks."

Then Severus sat down on the edge of the bed and grasped one of Harry's hands and spoke.

"Harry? Can you hear me? Come on, child, open your eyes. You're here in your room with me, and Sirius. Come on, Harry, wake up now."

Severus' soothing voice was slowly reaching the boy who was still in the throes of a horrible nightmare. After a few more moments of soothing words, Harry's eyes fluttered open. He was still breathing in short gasps, and even though his eyes were still glazed over with fear, it was evident that the potions master's voice had reached him.

Harry tightened his grip on Severus' hand and closed his eyes as a torrent of tears began running down his face. He then finally took a huge breath and tried to curl up into himself, but Severus would have no part of that. The man reached over and gently pulled the sobbing child into his lap, noticing how thin and frail the boy still was, and held him close. At first, Harry was uncomfortable in this position; after all, this was his professor, but when he felt those strong, warm arms holding him firmly and tenderly, he couldn't help himself: he threw his arms around the man's chest and hung on for dear life, sobbing harder and harder.

Sirius quietly called Dobby, and asked him for a warm wet washcloth, and a round of hot tea for him and Severus, and a large mug of hot chocolate for his godson. He looked over at his friend, who was still holding on tightly to Harry, rocking his ever so slightly, and gave the man a grateful smile. Severus nodded slightly, and turned his attention back to the child in his arms.

Harry finally sat up and looked at his professor for a moment. He smiled briefly and muttered, "Thanks, Professor. No one has ever done that for me before."

At that moment, Dobby reappeared with a tray with two cups of hot tea, and a large mug of hot chocolate. Dobby then handed Severus the warm washcloth, a vile of dreamless sleep, and a calming draught. The professor expertly popped the stopper out of the first vial, the calming draught, and gave it to Harry, who drank it quickly, grimacing at the bitter taste. Then Sirius handed him the mug of hot chocolate, and the boy took the pro-offered mug with a genuine smile on his tear-stained face. He breathed deeply of the rich aroma, and carefully sipped from the cup. He closed his eyes briefly as the calming draught took affect, and then leaned back against the pillows on his bed.

Sirius, who had now joined Severus on the bed, asked, "Harry, are you all right now? That was some nightmare you were having. Would you like to tell us about it?"

At first, Harry shook his head at the thought of having to remember that awful nightmare, much less having to talk about it. But his common sense won out, and he quietly told them about the dream he had been having.

"I was just dreaming about Vernon, and I was in the car. I was all tied up with these ropes, all around my hands, legs, body, and my neck. And every time I moved, they kept getting tighter and tighter. I couldn't get my breath...I felt like I was going to die..." The child's voice faded away as a few more large tears made their way down the boy's cheeks.

Sirius scooted closer and let his godson lean over into his lap. Harry laid his head down in the man's lap, shaking and sobbing once more. He was starting to wonder what everyone was going to think of him, sitting here crying every time he had a nightmare, shaking like a leaf, unable to control his emotions at all. This only made the child shake harder and tears to fall more quickly.

Sirius looked over at his friend, a look of utter helplessness evident on his face, with a silent plea for help in his eyes. Severus quickly summoned another calming draught and then sat down beside of Harry, so that all three of them were now sitting on the bed with their heads at the top and the their legs laying on the bed.

"Here, Harry, drink this now. That's a good boy. Come now, we will get through this, I promise you that."

The professors soft, deep voice penetrated the clouded mind of the sobbing child, and he slowly sat up out of his godfather's lap and then realized that he was basically lying on the bed between the two men. He looked at both men and blushed slightly, but took the pro-offered potion and drank it down. His eyes finally lost that glazed look they had had before, his shaking body and finally quieted, and his tears slowed to a drop or two every now and then. He sat there between his two 'guardians', wondering how in the world he was going to talk about his fears.

Luckily, he didn't have to start the conversation. It was Severus who decided to ask the first question.

"Harry, you do know that Vernon will never get his hands on you again? You do know that, correct?" Severus asked gently.

"I know, Pro...I mean, Severus, but I've been having to live like that for so long, I guess it's going to take some time to get over, you know? I just...I...I just don't know how to get past it...how to forget what he did to me..." Harry trailed off, another large tear slipping down his face.

Sirius looked at Severus once more, and with a nod, he gave his godson another vial.

"Here pup, take this one, too. Yes, it's dreamless sleep. It's still very early in the morning, about 4 am. Let's get a bit more sleep, and when we get up, we'll have a big breakfast, and then we can get ready for your girl to come stay with you. I'm quite sure that will make you feel right as rain."

Sirius couldn't have been happier to see the smile on Harry's face at the mention of Hermione. Severus noticed that the boy actually calmed down enough to let the potions he had taken work, and work they did. Harry closed his eyes and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, a soft smile on his face.

The two men quietly slipped out of the room, with Severus placing a monitoring spell on Harry, so if he was having another nightmare, he would be alerted. They walked to the library and sat down for a moment, and Dobby greeted them with a couple of cups of hot tea.

"Thanks, Dobby. We really do appreciate this. And thanks for helping out with Harry. And for cleaning this place up so well. I know that there's not a lot you can do because of the dark magic in this house, but maybe we can tackle that at a later date."

"It's my pleasure, Sirius Black, sir. Anything for Harry Potter's godfather and his friend. Harry Potter is a great wizard." Dobby continued to mutter about Harry Potter and then popped out of the room.

Sirius then asked, "Sev, is there anything that we can do to stop those nightmares? That boy has been through so much already, and he can't keep waking up like this every night. And, you know he can't keep taking dreamless sleep every night either. I don't even think it's all that effective any longer."

Severus thought for a few moments, and then replied, "I'm just not sure, Sirius. I will have to research this and see if I can come up with a stronger potion for him, but be that as it may, Harry won't be able to take it every night. Perhaps Miss Granger's presence will help alleviate some of the child's fears and depression."

"I hope you're right, Sev. I really hope she can help him. Well, let's get some sleep. I don't expect Harry to sleep too long, even with those potions we gave him. And don't forget, you'll have to go get Hermione this afternoon. And make sure to check her for tracking charms. I wouldn't put anything past Dumbledore at this point."

"I won't forget. And thank you for reminding me about checking for that spell. I will see you later for breakfast then. Goodnight, Sirius."

"Goodnight. Severus."

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Minerva sat drinking a hot cup of tea, her friend, Remus Lupin, sitting across from her. They had been talking for almost an hour before he had reminded her that he had an appointment to go to, and that he needed to be going.

"One more thing, Remus. If you do see Severus, will you please let him know that he should be very careful about his dealings with Albus. I don't know what to think about his behavior as of late, but I intend to get to the bottom of it. Are you absolutely sure that Mr. Potter is safe and unharmed?"

"Minerva, I can assure you that Harry is just fine. He was in bad shape when Severus and Sirius found him, but he's doing fine now; well, as fine as he can, considering. He's still having nightmares, and that's hindering him from sleeping properly. I do believe that Severus is trying to find a way to help him. Please, Minerva, don't let Dumbledore know anything about this. That's why I haven't told you where they are, not because I don't trust you, but I don't trust Albus. I wouldn't put it past him to try to legilimize you, if he thought you might know something. Please be careful, and I will try to keep in touch. You'll see Harry this September for sure. I must be going now. Take care."

Remus gave his former professor a kiss on her cheek, and then threw some floo powder into the fireplace and shouted out, "Lupin's Lair," and was gone in a whoosh of green flames. Minerva sat staring at the fireplace for a few moments, thinking about all that she had just heard, wishing that she could assist her friends more.

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Harry woke up again about 9:30 in the morning. He still felt a bit tired after having that horrible nightmare last night, but overall, his excitement at seeing Hermione helped to combat his weariness. He leapt out of bed and ran downstairs to the kitchen. He found his godfather and Severus sitting at the table, drinking coffee and reading the Daily Prophet.

As soon as Harry sat down at the table, breakfast magically appeared, a lot of Harry's favorites. Scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes, and something called a waffle, which Sirius explained was similar to a pancake, only crispier and thicker. Harry had a little of everything, then went back for seconds, which included another waffle.

Severus smiled at the boy who was eating enough for two. He knew that Harry would probably eat this way for many days or weeks until he became accustomed to having food accessible all the time. Plus the potions he had been given were helping with increasing the thin child's appetite. By the time Harry returned to Hogwarts in the fall, he would hopefully weigh as much as any other 5th year male, and have gained some muscle as well.

Once Harry had cleared his plate a second time, and had drank a glass of milk and pumpkin juice, he sat back and called Dobby to him.

"Thanks, Dobby. That was the best breakfast ever."

Dobby's large eyes glistened as he heard his beloved Harry Potter praising him. He quickly wrapped his long elf arms around Harry's waist and gave the boy a hug, spouting off more accolades about how great Harry was. The boy could do nothing but grin and pat the elf's head affectionately. Once Dobby had cleared the table, and had popped away, Harry looked over to Sirius and noticed that he was reading something intently in the Prophet.

"What's so interesting in the paper, Sirius?"

"Um, well, actually, nothing. There's no mention of you being missing, nothing about Voldemort, no Death Eater activity, nothing. There was a little bit about me, something about me being sighted in Wales, but other than that, nothing. So, are you ready for Hermione to come over?"

"Oh, yes! I've been so ready! Oh wait!! I've got to go take a shower, and clean up my room, and..." the excited boy quickly ran out of the room and back up the stairs to his room, stripping his clothes off as he ran so he could jump into the shower.

Severus and Sirius laughed as they watched Harry scramble out of the room. Severus then stood up and said, "I am going to go assist Miss Granger in getting her things together and then I'll apparate us back here. I should be back within the hour."

Sirius nodded and watched his friend don his cloak and walk out of the front door. Severus then apparated away to Hermione's house, right in the middle of the living room.

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Hermione had just finished packing her trunk when she heard a pop downstairs. She quickly ran downstairs to find her potions professor standing in the living room.

"Hello, Professor Snape. I'm all ready to go. Thank you for coming to get me."

Severus nodded his head and then said, "You are quite welcome, Miss Granger. However, I must ask that you stand still for a moment. I need to cast a spell to make sure that Dumbledore hasn't placed a tracking spell on you. We absolutely can not have him find Harry. He would only send the boy back to that hellion, Vernon Dursley, and I have no doubt that that muggle would kill Harry if he gets his hands on him again."

Hermione gasped at Severus' words, but quickly recovered and stood still while he cast a few spells to make sure that she didn't have any of the numerous tracking spells on her. Sure enough, as Severus was almost sure that the girl was clean, one tiny, and expertly hidden spell was found, and it also included an alarm to warn the caster if it were being removed.

Severus sat down on the sofa for a moment, trying to think of what to do to take the charm off the girl standing in from of him. Then he abruptly stood, and took out a small pouch from his pocket and tossed a pinch of floo powder into the fireplace. He then warded it with the strongest spell he knew to prevent anyone from listening in. He spoke his destination, "Grimmauld Place." A few moments later, and Sirius' head appeared in the floo.

"Severus, what are you doing? I thought we agreed it would be too dangerous to use the floo right now. Is everything alright?"

"No, it is not all right. It seems that Dumbledore has placed a tracking and a monitoring charm on Miss Granger. He is desperate to find Harry. We must not let this happen." Severus stopped talking, trying to organize his thought when Hermione chimed in with a suggestion.

"Professor, I have an idea. Would it be possible to apparate us to some other location, remove the tracking charm there, and then we apparate somewhere else, and then apparate to where we need to go?"

Severus and Sirius looked at each other via the floo, and both exclaimed together, "Brilliant!"

Severus quickly relayed the plan to Sirius and then extinguished the connection. He then turned to Hermione and remarked, "You really are the brightest witch of your age. That was an excellent plan, Miss Granger. Are you ready to go? Superb. Let me shrink your trunk, and then we shall be off."

Severus shrank the trunk and Hermione placed it her pocket. She took hold of Severus' hand and he wrapped his other arm around her, to help take some of the pressure off of her from apparating. After a moment of feeling like she was being squeezed, she opened her eyes to find she was in the country somewhere. There were no houses, only open fields as far as she could see. Severus quickly whipped out his wand and removed the tracking spell from the child, and then cast a spell to show several footprints leading further away from their current location, which just happened to be about five kilometers from Hogsmeade. He smirked briefly, and chuckled when Hermione's mouth dropped open, seeing the smile on her professor's face.

"Well, I do believe that will send our headmaster on a wild goose chase, as least for a while. Thank you for the idea, Miss Granger. I do believe we should be going now."

"You're welcome, Professor. But, seeing as how we're going to be spending the rest of the summer together, would you please consider calling me Hermione?" She stood nervously, hoping that she hadn't made her professor angry, and was again shocked to see the normally sour man smile warmly at her.

"Of course, Hermione. I will be happy to call you by your first name. However, we really do need to be leaving this area. I expect Dumbledore will be arriving any moment, and I'm not ready to deal with him or his heinous deceptions just yet."

He stepped close to the girl, wrapped his arm around her, and just as they were apparating away, they briefly saw the headmaster apparate to their location. Luckily, his back was turned to them, so he didn't see who was apparating away. He was too busy looking at the footprints leading away from the area. He was so intent in following those footprints, he didn't even notice that someone had apparated away only a few feet behind him. Dumbledore proceeded to follow that false trial, which would lead him directly to the Shrieking Shack.

Severus and Hermione appeared again, this time in front of Hogwarts outer gates. Severus left a minute amount of a piece of Harry's clothing that he had brought along with him for just such a subterfuge, and then after wrapping his arm around Hermione for a third time, they apparated away, this time, to Grimmauld Place.

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It didn't take Dumbledore long to reach the Shrieking Shack, and once there, he soon realized that Harry wasn't there, and hadn't even been there. The old man was livid, and shot a few blasting curses into the snow to vent his rage. Once he had calmed himself slightly, he apparated back to gates of Hogwarts, and was about to walk through them, when he noticed a tiny piece of cloth clinging to the gates. He pointed his wand to it, and was overjoyed to see that the cloth actually belonged to his quarry, Harry Potter. He grabbed it quickly, and ran though the gates, and began his search on the grounds of the school. This would take him several hours, but he would never find the boy. Severus had done his work well.

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Severus and Hermione appeared at the front door of Grimmauld Place, and after Severus rechecked Hermione once more for tracking spells, he opened the door and showed her in. Sirius greeted them at the door, and he enveloped the girl in a warm embrace.

"Hey, Sirius! It's great to see you! Wow, you really clean up well. You're very handsome."

Sirius blushed slightly at the compliments from the witch, and gave her another crushing hug, then turned to lead her into the living room. Severus pulled out her trunk and spoke a quiet, "Engorgio," and the trunk returned to it's proper size. He left the trunk in the hallway, knowing that Dobby would take it up to the bedroom they had cleaned up and furnished for the teen witch.

Hermione never made it to the living room. Harry suddenly ran out of the room and when he saw the girl of his dreams, he stopped briefly, the both of them looking deeply into each others eyes. Then they both rushed together and wrapped their arms around each other, holding onto the other tightly, Harry sobbing loudly into the girl's hair, and Hermione sobbing with him, feeling his frail body trembling. The two grown men quietly excused themselves, seeing that this was the medicine that Harry needed to help him heal. They left the teens alone to finish their hellos, knowing that once Harry had calmed down, he would probably fall asleep for a while, and that would give them a chance to discuss with Hermione what all had happened thus far this summer, and to enlist her help in finding out what else Dumbledore had done to them, and to Harry. It was going to be a long, and hopefully productive summer.

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_Hi everyone! I'm so very sorry that it's taken me this long to update again. Please rest assured...I will never abandon this story. I will finish it, and I will do my best to not let this many months lapse again between updates. The reasons for the delay really don't matter, but for those who want to know, my computer crashed, and I lost all of my files, so I've been using a lap top from my sister to get back on line. Then, on October 6th, I fell and broke my left ankle in 3 places: both sides and across the top. Man did it hurt! I had surgery and they put a metal plate on one side and several pins in the other. I was laid up for a month, unable to do much of anything. Now...I'm fine now...I was up and walking again after 2 months, even tho I had this huge boot thingy on my foot. They never did put a cast on my leg. I will say this...the prayers my church and friends and family said for me really did help! I was walking without assistance right after Thanksgiving, and I took that boot off permanently not long after that. The doctor wasn't too thrilled about it, but...it really wasn't up to him to heal me! Thank God for His healing touch!!!_

_I hope you all have enjoyed reading this latest chapter, and I look forward to hearing from you all! I will do my best to answer all emails and reviews!!! _

_Take care everyone, and don't forget to review!!! Oh, and thanks a million to everyone who has added me and this story to your favorites, and to your favorite author's lists...heck...all of those lists!! Thank you so much!!!!_

_Yours truly...Nita_


	12. Chapter 11

'Chapter 11

While Dumbledore was busy running around Hogwarts, searching in vain for Harry, the afore mentioned young man was enjoying a warm hug from his long time friend, Hermione. She had arrived safely at Grimmauld Place, as well as her escort, Severus. The two older men had quietly excused themselves while the two teens were sharing an emotional welcoming.

Hermione had never seen her friend so openly emotional before. Sure, she'd seen him angry, and even sad, and he was quite upset upon returning from the graveyard at the end of the third task with Cedric's body, but even then, he looked like he was holding back the tears, the feelings. Now, he was literally gushing over with tears, and although he was unable to talk, she held him tightly, whispering calming words into his ear, and caressing his back with one hand, while using the other to keep the boy on his feet.

It seemed like forever, but after a few minutes, Harry calmed down and slumped down to the floor, along with Hermione. She didn't want to let him go, so she slid down to the floor with him. She continued to keep one arm around his waist, and the other took hold of his hand. She had been prepared for this, and reached into her pocket for several hankies, and proceeded to clean Harry's face, gently wiping away the tears, and other messes from his face.

"Thanks, Hermione. I honestly don't know what came over me...I...I was just so happy to see you. I'm sorry..."

"Now Harry, don't start apologizing for crying. I don't know everything that's happened since you got off the train, but you can tell me all about it. Now, I'm very happy to see you, too. I really hated leaving you at the train station that day. I knew you didn't want to go with those Dursleys."

She was quick to notice at the mention of the Dursleys, Harry gave an involuntary shudder, along with his pale face losing the rest of it's color. She made a mental note to not mention them again, unless someone else brought up the topic.

"Do you feel like standing up now, Harry? I'd like to see my room and unpack my things. Then we can sit down and talk. Is that ok?"

Harry grinned at his best friend and stood up. He took Hermione's hands and helped her stand up, and without a word, led her upstairs to her room. It conveniently was the next room beside his own, and it had an adjoining door, something that Hermione was extremely happy about. Her face flushed slightly when she thought of sneaking into Harry's room in the night. She then noticed Harry staring at her, and she flushed a bit more, something that didn't go unnoticed by the young man standing next to her.

Harry watched as his friend began unpacking her belongings from her truck that Dobby had apparently taken up to her room, something that Harry had missed. He mentally shook his head at being so unobservant, and proceeded to assist his best friend with putting her clothes away in the dresser and hanging her robes and a couple of nice dresses in the closet. Harry noticed that one of the dresses was the one she had worn at the Ball last year during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He closed his eyes to relive that moment when she had appeared at the top of the stairs. She had looked like an angel. Her normally bushy hair was all done up in a sweeping mass, and tiny tendrils drifted around her face, framing the look perfectly. Harry's breath caught in his throat for more than a moment, as he realized at that moment he wanted to be at the Ball with her, and no one else. Of course, it wasn't meant to be, as Ron was gaping openly at the young woman, and not only that, they all already had dates.

Hermione noticed Harry still standing in the closet, his eyes closed, and his hand still holding the edge of her dress that she had worn to the Ball last year. She walked over to the young man and softly called his name.

"Harry?"

Harry quickly opened his eyes and dropped the gown, noticing that his friend was standing next to him with a knowing smile on her face. His face decided that now was a great time to flush, and so it did.

"Um, I'm...I'm sorry about that. I was just thinking...um...well..."

"What were you thinking, Harry? You can tell me, I promise I won't laugh." She spoke softly and calmly, hoping beyond hope that the moment she had been waiting for had arrived.

Harry looked up at Hermione and found her large brown eyes staring at him intently. He found that as he stared in her eyes, he suddenly felt compelled to just start talking, to tell her everything, and so it began.

"Well, I was just thinking about how pretty, no, how beautiful you looked last year in that gown. I truly do regret not asking you to the Ball sooner. I was sort of thinking that maybe Ron was going to ask you, but, now, um, I'm kind of glad he didn't."

Harry noticed a soft grin appear on Hermione's face, and he suddenly became aware of just how beautiful his friend had become over the years. Her hair had grown much longer, and was no longer as bushy, and even though it was still brown, it was now layered with many auburn highlights. When the sunlight would shine on her, she almost looked like she was totally red-headed. Harry decided that he really liked that a lot.

Hermione was still smiling as she watched many emotions play over Harry's face. She had come to realize that she could easily read his face like one of her books, mainly because the boy could never truly hide his feelings. And right now, she knew that he had something important to tell her, and she wanted to hear it.

"Thank you, Harry. I wasn't really sure if you had noticed me, what, with Cho, and Pavarti, and Fleur..."

Harry quickly placed his hand gently over her mouth.

"Hermione, I know I sort of liked Cho, well, I thought I did, but..." Harry suddenly blushed deeply and just blurted out quickly what he was trying to say.

"Ireallywantedtogototheballwithyou."

Hermione giggled for a moment, having heard exactly what the nervous boy had said. And, she decided to give Harry a break and let him know exactly what she was thinking.

"Oh Harry, I really wanted you to ask me to the Ball, too. I was so disappointed when you didn't, and then I was afraid that Ron would, and then Viktor did ask me, and so I said yes to him. Um, Harry, what are you telling me?"

She noticed that the both of them were now standing very close to each other, and she looked up into Harry's bright green eyes. She could see that he hadn't been sleeping well, and made a mental note to ask about that later.

Harry thought for a few seconds, trying to bring up his Gryffindor courage enough to just tell his friend just how he felt about her. She was standing so close to him now, he could just lean down and...

And suddenly, their lips met. It was a chaste kiss, but a first kiss, none the less. They leaned back from each other for a moment, then Hermione threw caution to the wind and wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and they kissed each other again. The kiss of true love is said to be overwhelming, electric, and all consuming, and they both decided that it was all those things and more. Time truly did stand still for the two young people, still standing in a closet, oblivious to the outside world.

It seemed much longer, but after only a couple of minutes, they stepped back from each other, staring into each other's eyes, both with soft smiles on their faces. Harry broke the silence with a soft contented sigh, which was immediately followed by another identical one from Hermione. Then Harry noticed that they were still standing in Hermione's closet. He giggled, causing Hermione to take notice of their surroundings as well. She took his hand and led him from the closet, both of them still giggling. It was at that moment that Sirius and Severus had quietly found their way up to Hermione's room, to check up on their charges, and when they heard Harry giggling along with Hermione, it sounded like sweet music to the both of them. Sirius turned and shook Severus' hand, and they both, just as quietly, descended the stairs to go back to the potion's lab, both men extremely glad that they had agreed that the young witch should come spend some time with Harry.

The two teens finally sat on the girl's bed, and with a heavy sigh, Harry began the long tale of what his uncle had done to him at the train station, all the way up to the cupboard. Hermione never said a word, but tears poured down her face, her brain in shock from what her best friend, no, her boyfriend, had had to endure just this summer. Harry quietly handed her several tissues and paused long enough for her to compose herself, and then continued.

"Hermione, there's more. It appears that our dear Headmaster isn't so dear. He put some kind of spell on Severus, Sirius, Remus, along with my mum and dad...it made them all hate each other. Did you know that they all used to be friends in school? Then Dumbledore cast his spell and look what happened...mum and dad died not knowing the truth."

Harry stopped for a moment, his hands visibly shaking, his eyes full of unshed tears, his mind overwhelmed with anger and frustration at the injustice of it all.

Hermione, being ever inquisitive, began to ask a few questions.

"How did the spell get broken? It seems that Professor Snape and Sirius are ok now."

Harry smiled and replied, "Well, it seems that Fawkes isn't with Dumbledore any longer. He appeared to Severus and Sirius while they were on their way to save me, and when he sang to them, the spell was broken. He's been right here ever since. I bet Dumbledore is going spar not knowing what happened to his phoenix." The kids giggled again, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Um, sorry to interrupt you kids, but, Dobby has prepared a really nice lunch for us downstairs, so would you both like to join us?" Sirius asked as he poked his head through the door.

Hermione looked at Harry's thin body and nodded her answer. Grabbing Harry's hand, she pulled him to his feet and arm in arm, the two teens walked past a gobsmacked Sirius and down the stairs to the kitchen. There, they saw Professor Snape sitting at the table all ready, and four other plates set up.

Harry looked at the four place settings and asked, "Who's coming for lunch? No one else knows about this place, right?" His breathing began to quicken as horrid thoughts began to invade his imagination. But his question was quickly answered when Remus came up behind the shaking boy and wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

"Don't worry, cub. It's only me. I just popped over to deliver the Prophet to Severus and to see how you were doing. I see Hermione made it just fine. Oh, I also wanted to tell you that Dumbledore has been searching the castle high and low for you. That little scrap of cloth from one of Harry's shirts has the man in a tizzy, and hasn't stopped yet from searching every classroom, all of the towers, even the dungeons. Oh, and Severus, I did as you asked, and cleaned out all of your premade potions from your storage cabinet. I delivered the ones you mentioned to Poppy, and I put the rest in your potion's lab here."

Severus stood up and gave the man a warm handshake. "Thank you, Remus. I really do appreciate that. At least now we'll have a few supplies to work with for a bit."

Remus thought for a moment and then continued. "It seems that Minerva is suspicious about where you are, Severus. She is also extremely upset about Dumbledore for some reason. She actually seems a bit afraid of him, although she hasn't said so in those words. It's getting harder and harder to pretend that I don't know anything about where you are and what's going on with young Harry here."

Severus thought for a moment, while motioning for the others to take their seats at the table. The instant they were all seated, the table was loaded with fresh fruit, sandwiches, soups, and pumpkin juice. The older men were extremely pleased to notice that for once, Harry didn't wait for everyone else to serve themselves first before he took what was there. This time, he dug right in, and actually began eating with gusto, something that none of them had ever seen the child do since he had been at Grimmauld Place.

Severus lowered his voice slightly and began speaking again to Remus.

"Perhaps it's time to show her what her headmaster is capable of. I hate to place her in that position, but if she already suspects that something is amiss, she could be of some help to us, especially this fall when school begins again."

Sirius and Remus both nodded their agreements and began eating their lunch, knowing that once they let Minerva in on this secret, she too, could become a target for Dumbledore's wrath, if he chose to retaliate against any of them. Severus surmised that if she didn't want to get involved, he could always obliviate her, even though that was something he loathed doing.

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Hello everyone!!

Yep, I've finally updated this fic! I'm not going to make some long drawn out speech about why it took me a year to update...I've had problems, and even tho those problems aren't fixed by any means, I'm back to writing.

I must give a huge thanks to Jen, Siriuslover4ever, for betaing this chapter for me and helping get me back on track.

I hope the H/H reunion was worth the wait.

Thank you to everyone who has read the story up to this point...and double thanks to those who have taken the time to review it! It really does make my day to read them!!

Ok...next chapter, Ron will make a small appearance, and Minerva will visit GP!

Until next time, Yours...Nita


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Lunch concluded with Harry eating several pieces of fruit, a grilled cheese sandwich, and a whole bowl of chicken noodle soup, plus a couple of glasses of pumpkin juice. The men at the table were very pleased to see that the still skinny boy had eaten a rather healthy lunch. And much to Harry's embarrassment, they told him so.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, Dobby snapped his fingers and the table was immediately cleared. Harry looked over at Hermione and grinned as he remarked, "I love magic!"

This had everyone in the room dissolving into fits of laughter, a welcome sound to the sounds of pain and grief from earlier in the week. The two young teens quietly excused themselves from the table and walked out into the living room. Hermione grabbed one of Harry's hands and held on lovingly while they seated themselves on the settee. It wasn't long before Harry's eyes had begun to close, his head gently dropping down onto Hermione's shoulder. She reached around and grabbed the afghan that was across the back of the settee and laid it gently over both of them. She then pulled out a book that she had been reading and quietly allowed her boyfriend to get the rest he deserved and needed. It was a shame that he wouldn't rest for long.

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Back in the kitchen, Sirius looked fondly at the retreating forms of the two teens. He and the others didn't fail to notice how Hermione had grabbed onto his godson's hand, and how Harry had latched onto hers. It was a welcome and heartwarming sight for everyone.

Then, Severus began to make some plans about how to bring Minerva to Grimmauld Place to explain to her about Dumbledore's actions.

"I think it would be appropriate for Remus to approach Minerva and see if he thinks she can be trusted. I'm inclined to believe that she can be, but we really do need to be sure," Severus remarked.

"I can do that," replied Remus. "After the last talk we had yesterday, especially when she seemed so fearful of Dumbledore, I really do believe she will be a valuable asset. As a matter of fact, I'll go see her now. Since Dumbledore has been tearing up the castle searching for Harry, I should be able to have an undisturbed conversation with her. If she's willing, do you want me to bring her here?"

Remus looked at Severus, who then looked over at Sirius, since Grimmauld Place _was_ technically his. Sirius gave a nod of affirmative.

"Yes, I think that will work out fine," Severus echoed Sirius's agreement. "Just bring her here, and if it doesn't work out, we'll just have to obliviate her, although I am loathe to do that to her." The potions master looked at the clock. "Hm, it's about one o'clock; I should get back to brewing some more of that nutrient potion for Harry. Sirius, would like to assist me while Remus is speaking with Minerva?"

"Yes, I would be glad to. Remus, be careful, and we'll see you back here later."

Remus made his way to the front door and once out on the porch, he apparated to Hogsmeade, and quickly walked the path to the castle. He began thinking of how to broach this subject with his old friend, and hoped that he wouldn't run into the angry headmaster on his way.

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Sirius stood up to follow Severus downstairs to the potions lab when he halted.

"Let me go check on the kids..."

Sirius had barely begun to step into the living room when he first noticed that Hermione was trying unsuccessfully to hold onto a sleeping but struggling Harry. Even thought the boy was still fast asleep, he had begun to move, gently at first, but as his nightmare gained strength, so did his movements. Then came the agonizing screams of pain and terror.

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Harry and Hermione sat down on the settee and quickly made themselves comfortable. Hermione had curled her legs up under herself while Harry leaned onto her soft, firm shoulder, breathing in her lavender scented hair, an aroma that helped him relax and stay calm. It wasn't but a few minutes of small talk that he began nodding off. Hermione gently rearranged herself and allowed Harry to lay down on the settee, and laid his head in her lap. She then grabbed the afghan off the back of their seat and draped it lovingly over them both. After pulling out a book she had placed in her pocket, she settled in to read while her still recovering boyfriend had a well deserved, and needed, nap. Unfortunately, it wouldn't last.

_Moments later..._

It had only been a mere half hour before Harry began dreaming, or rather, began having a horrific nightmare. His dreams as of lately had been about the events of that fateful evening that his uncle had almost killed him, but this time, instead of him being hung in the cupboard under the stairs, it was now his beloved Hermione. He tried in vain to get to her, to get that cruel chain from around her already blue neck, to allow her to breathe again. But, he found that he couldn't quite get to her, something was holding him back. He began to struggle furiously, screaming her name and begging for someone to help him, but no one came. All he could hear was his ragged breathing and his uncle's hysterical laughter. Harry finally started screaming to the top of his lungs.

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Sirius and Severus quickly rushed into the room to discover Harry being held down by Hermione, but only barely so. She was terribly panicked, and had tears running unchecked down her flushed cheeks, but she still held on to the young man for dear life, all the while talking to him, hoping that somehow he would hear her voice and wake up.

Severus quickly reached the teens and scooped Harry into an upright position, his hand outstretched to grab the waiting Calming Draught that Sirius had opened up for him. The potions professor quickly poured the contents down the still struggling boy's throat, his screams not quite so loud now, due to his throat being raw from his actions. The draught worked quickly, and within minutes, the young boy had quieted, and was resting silently upon the settee. Hermione had quietly gotten up and dragged a chair over to sit beside the settee, so she could be close when Harry awoke.

Severus then asked, "Hermione, what happened? He was laughing and so happy when you two left the table. Do you have any idea what might have set him off like that?"

Sirius looked at both teens and noticed that Hermione had quietly taken hold of his godson's hand once more, and even though Harry was asleep, he was also gripping her hand like it was his only life line. He smiled to himself, but sobered quickly; he wanted to know if this young woman knew what had happened to his godson.

Hermione thought for a moment, then answered.

"Well, I'm not sure. We talked for only a few minutes, and then I noticed that Harry seemed really sleepy, and he was nodding off quickly. So, when his head fell onto my shoulder, I moved so he could lay down on the settee and I covered us with the afghan, and he fell asleep really fast. It couldn't have been more than thirty minutes before he started moaning, or, calling my name faintly, begging his uncle to stop, and then he just started struggling, like he was trying to get somewhere, but he was unable to. Then he started screaming. I've never heard him scream like that. I've never been so scared before. Why would he scream like that?"

"Did Harry tell you what his uncle did to him once they got back from King's Cross the other day?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, he did. That man is so vile, so utterly despicable. I do hope you are going to press charges against him for trying to murder Harry. It's a wonder that Harry has survived as long as he has while having to live with those awful people." Hermione paused to wipe away a few more stray tears that suddenly appeared on her face. Severus quietly handed her some tissues that had been sitting on a table next to the couch, and she smiled and thanked him politely.

It was at that moment that Harry began to stir and opened his eyes. He looked up into Hermione's chocolate eyes and found them still swimming with a few unshed tears, and noticed her tear-stained cheeks.

"What happened? Why is my throat so sore?" Harry began to cough, and just as quickly, Dobby appeared with a tall glass of cold water to help quench his master's thirst.

"Thanks, Dobby. I really needed that. Now, what happened? I fell asleep, right?" Harry ran his hand through his disheveled hair, making it even more a mess, then flushed a deeper red, suddenly remembering the nightmare he had just had.

"Oh God, I'm going to be sick!" He exclaimed. Severus quickly conjured a wastebasket, and Harry promptly lost his lunch. Hermione held onto his head while he keep vomiting, even through the dry heaves that came afterwards. Sirius had conjured a cold cloth and held it over the boy's forehead, and another one was being held by Severus on the back of his neck. Harry briefly had time to ponder the thought about how wonderful it felt to have so many people actually care about him. That thought helped to further calm him, and after a few minutes, his sickness was over, the wastebasket vanished, and a fresh, clean, cold towel was gently washing his heated face and neck. Another glass of cold water was awaiting him, and he drank deeply, relishing the feel of the cold water as it made its way down his burning throat.

Severus then softly asked, "Harry, can you tell us what you dreamed about? Please, I know it will be painful, but you don't want to keep something that stressful bottled up inside you."

Harry smiled slightly at his potions professor. It was such a nice change from the way he used to be, and Harry knew that he really did care for this man as he was now. He looked up and after a moment of thought, he began to speak, and once he started talking, he just couldn't stop.

Harry told them about how he had started dreaming about being in the cupboard under the stairs, but this time, instead of it being _him_ hanging by his neck, it was now Hermione. He had tried so hard to get to her, but somehow, he couldn't move at all. He could hear his uncle laughing...laughing...and he had started pleading for him to stop and let her down. When all he heard was more laughter, and still being unable to move forward to save his girlfriend, he had started screaming, hoping that someone would hear him and come help. He couldn't get the sight of Hermione's blue face and bulging eyes out of his mind, and it made his stomach leap dangerously to think about it. When Harry's face paled once again, Severus was ready with a Nausea Calming Draught, which he promptly gave to the upset boy. Harry quickly drank the foul potion, and then settled back into Hermione's arms.

_When had she moved back to the settee? _Harry wondered.

Finally, after a few moments, Harry smiled and muttered a quick thanks to his professor.

Severus replied back, "It's no problem, Harry. I'm sorry that this has upset you so. I can safely say that that fate will not fall upon Hermione. She will never be in that house with that muggle swine, and neither will you. You will never have to lay eyes on that vermin again. Do you understand me, Harry? Sirius and I will never allow you to go back to that house ever again, nor will you ever have to be in the same room with those relatives of yours." He finished his speech with a bit of a snort, thinking of what all he could do to the bane of Harry's existence, something that didn't go unnoticed by Sirius or the two teens.

Harry looked into his professor's eyes, and then over at his godfather, before throwing himself into the arms of the surprised potions professor. The man had been hugged by this boy several times this week already, but he still got caught off guard every time he did it. However, this didn't stop the man from returning the hug warmly, and he took the moment to wrap his long arms around the too skinny boy and pour all the warmth, magic and care into that physical contact, hoping that it would help calm the child and allay the boy's fears for a while.

Hermione looked on in awe as she witnessed her once despised professor warmly hugging the boy he had also despised for the last four years, a couple of joyful tears sneaking out of the corners of her eyes. She discreetly wiped them away, and waited quietly for Harry and the two men to compose themselves.

Dobby suddenly appeared next to the couch.

"Mister Snape, sirs, Mister Remus sirs will be arriving soon with Professor McGonagall. Does Dobby need to clean up another room for her?"

Sirius looked over at his friend, who nodded his agreement. Sirius then gave Dobby instructions to clean a room for Minerva, and to have dinner ready at about seven o'clock. Dobby nodded and quickly popped away to his duties.

Harry then asked, "Is Professor McGonagall coming here? What's happened? Did Dumbledore do something to her?" Harry began to get nervous and excited, but a squeeze from Hermione's hand seemed to help calm him back down quickly.

"Now Harry, it's nothing to fret over," Sirius began. "Remus is just going to go fetch her and we're going to have a bit of a chat to see where she stands, as far as Dumbledore is concerned. Plus, we wanted to let her know what has happened to you, and what has happened to us, all because of Dumbledore's manipulations. If she's still going to blindly follow that man, we'll have to obliviate her and take her back to Hogwarts. So, there's nothing for you to worry about. If she's willing to help us out, then we'll come get you so you can see each other. I happen to know that Minerva thinks very highly of you," Sirius concluded. "As a matter of fact, they should be here any time now. Why don't you two go up to your room and freshen up, and if we need you, one of us will come get you, ok?"

Harry smiled and nodded his agreement, and quietly, he grabbed Hermione's hand and the two walked side by side out of the sitting room and up the stairs to Harry's room, with a smirking potions professor and a grinning Grim animagus watching their departure.

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Within a few minutes of the teens taking their leave, the front door opened and a curious Minerva McGonagall and a grinning Remus Lupin walked in. He gave Sirius a slight nod of his head, a well known signal that all was well, and then quietly escorted the aging Professor to the living room, where Dobby appeared with a tray of hot tea and some blackberry scones. Minerva looked down at the smiling house elf and thanked him warmly for the much needed refreshment, and quickly poured herself a cuppa and daintily broke open a scone and took a bite.

The three men sat quietly while their former professor and friend refreshed herself. She only ate half of her scone, but she did drink down a full cup of tea, and poured herself another before beginning to speak.

"Well, Professor Snape, so this is where you have been hiding yourself this summer? I had wondered where you disappeared to so suddenly after the term had ended. I must say that I'm very surprised. Be that as it may, seeing the three of you in the same room and it still be intact is something that bears an explanation. So, who would like to explain to me about what has been going on?"

The three men all took deep breaths, looking to each other for a signal for who was going to begin, then Severus began to speak; he started with Sirius' request to help him with Harry, and the attempted murder of the boy by his uncle, then moved on to the three of them, the obvious spells that had made them all forget about their friendships, and numerous other oddities that they had discovered. The climax of the conversation came when Fawkes suddenly appeared and perched on Severus' shoulder.

"Hello, Fawkes. Did you come for some petting today? Or do you sense that Minerva has need of you?" The potions master inquired.

Fawkes chirped in the affirmative and began to sing that haunting tune that had cleared the men's minds last week, and suddenly Minerva dropped her teacup and scone. Her face became pale and her eyes had closed tightly. That did not halt the flood of tears that had suddenly began to streak down the older woman's face, and her body began to shake with her rage, her shame, and her sudden realization that her old friend was actually a very cruel and despicable man.

Just as Severus was about to kneel at his colleague's feet, Harry followed by Hermione joined them in the living room.

They had been listening on the steps, waiting for the time for them to show themselves, and now seemed like the appropriate time. Harry knelt down in front of his Transfiguration professor and wrapped his thin arms around her, giving her a hug that hopefully would ease some of the pain she was feeling at being betrayed by Dumbledore. Fawkes flew over and landed beside Harry, and began singing a different melody, this one seemingly erasing the ache in the old woman's heart.

Minerva opened her eyes to see the Boy Who Lived kneeling right in front of her, his face full of life, a smile that reached out and warmed her very soul, and she quickly wrapped the child up in her long arms and returned his hug just as warmly. This, of course, caused a few more tears, but these were healing tears, and very much needed. Hermione then knelt down and wrapped her arms around her professor and her boyfriend, adding her own love and support to the woman.

Minerva then sniffed and wiped her eyes on the tissue that one of the men had ready for her, and once she had composed herself, she smiled warmly at the three men and two children in front of her. She reached down and gave Fawkes a scratch on his head, which earned the woman another happy chirp. Then Fawkes bumped his head with Harry, something he had began doing lately whenever he was ready to leave the boy's presence, and then he disappeared in a blaze of orange and red flames.

Minerva sighed deeply and then asked, "Do any of you have any idea how long this has been going on? How could that man have done these horrible things to all of us? Why did he insist on making sure that Harry went back to those despicable Dursleys every year?"

Harry and Hermione both sat on either side of their professor, as she still looked a bit shaky from all of the knowledge she now had rolling around her brain. But her mind was now clear; due to Fawke's help, she was no longer befuddled or confused, and she would be immune to those spells if they were ever cast upon her again. In fact, Harry, his godfather, Remus and Severus were all immune to those spells meant to confuse or cause memory lapses.

"Minerva, I truly do not know how long this has been going on. The headmaster seems to have been trying to make sure that Harry would be in his total control once he arrived at Hogwarts, and for these past 4 years, it would seem to have worked. As you already know, I've spent the last 4 years nursing a grudge for something that didn't even happen. Yes, James did take me to the tunnel under the Shrieking Shack to see Remus, but not to hurt me, it was for me to see how the man changed into the wolf, so I could perhaps help create a better Wolfsbane for him, maybe even create a cure for Lycanthropy. As best as we've been able to remember, the headmaster reinvented that event to make it seem as if Sirius had lured me there to kill me, and then James saved me at the last minute, thus causing me to hate them all even more. As we now know and remember, that is not how it happened," Severus stated.

Harry was looking down at his feet at the moment, struggling to make up his mind to join in the conversation. He was still having trouble admitting that his uncle had tried to kill him, and that terrible nightmare was still in the front of his mind. He finally took a breath and when he began to speak, it was very softly.

"The only thing I know for sure is that because of what Dumbledore did to me, my uncle almost killed me. If I hadn't sent Hedwig back to school, she would have been killed for sure." The boy paused for a moment, his breath hitching slightly. That was all it took for Hermione to come around to the boy's side of the couch and squeeze in beside of him, then wrapping her arms around his shaking shoulders. He buried his face into her hair, and held on tightly while he tried to reign in his emotions, as well as stop those dratted tears!

Minerva then sat up straighter, and exclaimed, "Oh my! I just remembered something else. The last few days, I've caught Albus in his office muttering under his breath, looking at numerous orbs and scry glasses. It appears that when you disappeared from the Dursleys, Harry, that's when he started acting rather different than usual. He always appeared rather upset about something, like he has lost something and couldn't get it back or find it. And now I see that this is where Fawkes has been staying, that explains about him. Albus was extremely upset about not having his pheonix with him. And, I am to assume that one of you gentlemen left those clues to Harry's whereabouts at Hogwarts? You should have seen him scurrying about, trying his best to find you, Harry."

Minerva's eyes were finally starting to twinkle a bit at the thought of her former friend being led on a wild hippogriff chase. She even let out an uncustomary giggle, which caught both of her young students off guard. Both kids grinned at their professor, and then rose.

"Professor, Harry and I are going to go get some studying done. Plus, I think Harry will need to lay down soon so he can get his rest. He's still not quite 100% recovered yet, and we don't want him to overdo it," Hermione said as she grabbed her boyfriend's hand.

"That's quite alright, children. Go right ahead. I'm sure these fine gentlemen will keep me entertained in your absence."

"Take care, Professor McGonagall. Please watch out for the headmaster." Hermione gave her beloved professor a hug and the two teens quickly walked back upstairs.

Sirius then called out to Dobby. The elf appeared and quickly helped the transfiguration professor to her feet.

"Professor McGonagall, Dobby will take yous to your room so you can freshen up before dinner."

"Why, thank you, Dobby. I would like that very much."

She followed the elf upstairs to her appointed room, and upon passing by what appeared to be Harry's room, she heard Harry laughing, something she wasn't sure if she'd ever heard before. She shook her head slightly, but she knew that she was determined that her "friend" would have to pay for his crimes against this boy. Albus was going to be sorry he had ever crossed one Minerva McGonagall.

Downstairs, the three men sat quietly for a few moments, each thinking deeply about what had brought them all together, and realized that there was so much more to this nightmare than they had even begun to decipher. Sirius had lowered his head into his hands, his fingers desperate to massage away the throbbing pain he felt there. Remus had stood up and begun to pace the floor, shaking his head slightly at everything they had lost because of one man's greed. Severus, still able to remain somewhat calm, finally gave in to his inner turmoil and bowed his head, hoping to hide the grief he was feeling. He suddenly became aware of his two friends kneeling in front of him, and he reached out and placed his hands on each of their shoulders.

"My friends, we have a long way to go to find the freedom we are searching for. I am uncertain of how to proceed at this moment. Sirius, do you need a headache potion?" Severus paused as he summoned a potion from his freshly made stores there in Grimmauld Place.

"Thanks, Sev. I really needed that." Sirius drank the potion down and within a few seconds, felt the much desired relief from the pounding headache that had been plaguing him for the last couple of hours.

Remus sighed deeply and then said, "Why don't we just have a quiet dinner tonight, we'll continue to discuss what needs to be discussed later. Perhaps Hermione will be able to analyze this situation better than we can, seeing as how it hasn't affected her directly. She is looking at this from the outside, we're all on the inside. And, we all know she is quite intelligent. Plus, we know she won't stop until she finds a way to help Harry and to protect him."

Severus nodded his agreement, and stood up.

"I believe I will go check on those nutrient potions for Harry, and then go refresh myself for dinner. Would you gentlemen like to join me?"

Both Remus and Sirius grinned at their friend and all three descended the stairs to the basement and the potions lab. Sounds of manly laughter could be heard outside the door, a sound that could be understood by three very close,dedicated friends.

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Ron looked on as he watched Dursley all but kick his best friend out of Kings Cross and toward his car. Ron couldn't help but worry about his friend. He knew Harry didn't like it at the Dursley's, but he'd never said anything about them going too far, so he tried to forget about it. However, his mind moved to how Hermione had hugged Harry so affectionately, and how it seemed to make Harry perk up just a bit, his emerald eyes brightening up slightly. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the memory.

"Why couldn't she have hugged me that way?" Ron wondered as he dragged his trunk up the rickety stairs of the Burrow. "I wonder if we'll have a dance again when school starts again? Maybe I'll ask her to go with me on the first day this time."

Ron made his decision and quickly unpacked his trunk, which consisted of him dumping out the contents onto the still clean and spotless floor. He knew his mum would get on to him about his things all over the floor, but right now, his stomach was rumbling , and he wanted to go find himself a snack as quickly as possible. He set his empty trunk in the corner of his room, and after piling up his school books onto the desk, he left the rest of his belongings on the floor and left the room, closing the door behind him. He quickly made his way to the kitchen and helped himself to a glass of pumpkin juice and a handful of pumpkin spice cookies. Yep, he was going to try to find a way to get Hermione to go with him to the next dance, or least to Hogsmeade.

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_Yep, it's me again!!! I'm so very sorry it's taken me so very long to update. No excuses...just have been lazy!! But, I will try very hard to do better!_

_Here's your next chapter...I do hope you enjoy it and continue to enjoy the story._

_Oh...here's a fic rec for you. Try reading the story, The Forgotten Lifetime, by Siriuslover4eva. It's right here on . _

_Please don't forget to review...it really does help me to stay motivated!!! A huge, huge thanks goes out to Jen (Siriuslover4eva) for betaing and helping me with this chapter. You rock my friend!!!! _

_And...another huge thanks goes out to everyone who had been adding me to their favorites lists...you have made my day...my lifetime!! I really do appreciate it!!!_

_Until next chapter...Nita_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 13**

Dinner that night was a festive affair. Harry, having lost his lunch earlier, was ravenous, and ate everything Hermione had placed on his plate, and even had seconds of some of his favorites. Dobby had really cooked up a storm, Harry thought to himself as he quietly looked at the heavily laden table upon entering the room.

Minerva, as she insisted everyone call her while she was there, was seated next to Remus, who was seated next to Sirius, who was seated next to Severus. Harry was on the other side of Severus, with Hermione next to himself. Once they were all seated, Dobby snapped his fingers, and their beverage glasses filled with their favorite drinks, Hermione's being pumpkin juice, Harry's being ice cold milk, and the adults each had piping hot cups of coffee. Dinner was still being a choice of Harry's favorite foods. Dobby had been instructed to keep serving anything that he knew Harry liked to eat, and that was very evident tonight. Hermione had loaded her boyfriend's plate with a serving of steak and kidney pie, a huge dollop of mashed potatoes dripping in butter, and a spoonful of green peas with mushrooms.

Harry grinned at his girlfriend and quietly tucked in. Once he got started eating, he realized that he was very hungry, and quickly finished off the food on his plate. He surprised everyone by asking for seconds, and then eating them! Severus looked on with awe and pride at how effective his potions were at stimulating the boy's appetite. Harry was probably always going to be small for his age thanks to the Dursleys, but with his help and those potions, he would still grow a couple of inches taller this summer and a few inches more over the next few years. Plus, they would help his body fill out to a normal size, add muscle to the boy's too skinny arms and legs, and even help calm the boy's nervous stomach, helping him to actually keep the food he'd eaten in his stomach and not in a waste basket.

Once everyone had eaten their fill of delicious food, Dobby snapped his fingers again, and the food and dirty dishes vanished, to be replaced with a huge blackberry cobbler, another of Harry's, and Hermione's favorite desserts. He even had some vanilla ice cream to add to the top. Hermione served Harry a huge serving, and put the scoop of ice cream slightly to the side, seeing as how the cobbler was still hot. The aroma of berries was intoxicating and both teens paused for a moment to just inhale the scent, before digging into the scrumptious dessert.

The conversation this night was lighthearted, with no one wanting to bring up anything painful for the young boy. Remus and Sirius began the conversation by telling Harry about how James, he and Severus used to go running with Remus on the nights of the full moon while in their animagus forms.

Harry quickly looked over at Hermione and once their eyes met, they knew they wanted the same thing. Harry then asked, "Would you be willing to train us, to teach us to be animagus', just like all of you? I know it might take a while, but I know I'm willing to work hard to learn, and I know Hermione will too, right?"

Hermione's head nodded quickly. Minerva regarded the two eager teens and then looked at the men at the table for approval.

"I believe that is a wonderful idea, Harry. I'll bring over the best reading material I can find to speed you both along. Severus, will you be able to brew up the potion so we can find out if either one of the children has the ability to transform?"

"Yes, I will get started on it tonight. It will only take a couple of hours to brew it, and once it cools, these two may drink it and we'll see what forms they have. It will actually be best for them to drink it tonight, because it will make them sleepy." Severus regarded the teens sitting at the table, their faces betraying their eagerness to get started participating in this new adventure.

Harry looked over at Severus and quietly asked him, "Um, would it be alright if I could help you brew that animagus potion, sir?"

Severus couldn't help the grin that spread across his face, causing Minerva and Hermione to both gasp in awe...neither had ever really seem this man smile before, and it was a welcome site, indeed.

"Of course you may assist me, Harry. Hermione may assist as well. It will make the preparations go much faster, and it will also help you understand brewing much better as well. A splendid idea, Harry."

Harry beamed as he received the praises from his once despised Potions professor. He silently resolved himself to really try hard in potions this year and make sure to learn all he could. He felt his girlfriend's hand in his, and he squeezed it lightly, letting her know that he was thinking about her.

Severus then said, "Well, if you are all finished with your dinner, let us adjourn to the potions lab and get started on the animagus potion. I will explain more about what it does while we are brewing."

The teens quickly finished drinking their beverages, and after thanking Dobby for a wonderful meal, they followed their professor downstairs into the basement to the potions lab.

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After chopping, mincing, and de-juicing many different herbs and some other ingredients that neither teen wanted to think about, it was finally time to mix the items into the waiting cauldron. Severus had the pot already heated and waiting with three cups of water in the bottom.

"Now Harry, please add the cherry bark, stir clockwise three turns, then add the rest of the minced ingredients. That's correct, all at once, then stir counterclockwise 5 turns. Then, Hermione, please add the crushed eyes. Yes, I know they are a bit sickening to look at. There you go. Alright, now stir for two minutes in a clockwise direction. Notice the potion is slowly becoming a very light blue color. That is the pansy petals you added. That will also help improve the flavor, although it will still not be very palatable. I'm sorry about that. Now, we've completed adding the ingredients, so we will let the potion simmer for thirty minutes, and after that, the color will change to a deep violet. Once that happens, we take it off the heat and let it cool for another thirty minutes. Then it will be ready to drink and you will find out what sort of animal you may be able to transform into. Now remember this, if you don't see an animal, it means that you don't have the ability. This is nothing to be ashamed of. Not everyone has the ability to transform, and even if you do, it might take years to achieve it. Any questions?"

Neither teen could think of anything to ask the professor at this time, so they shook their heads no, and then thanked the man for his teaching them the potion and explaining it so thoroughly to them. Even Harry understood everything he did and why he had to do it. The potion was now cooling in front of them, the deep violet color shining back at them. Severus couldn't help but be ecstatic that Harry had not only prepared most of the ingredients, but had also stirred most of the time. It appeared that the boy just needed someone to actually explain things more methodically to him, and the man silently vowed to do just that in his classes this year, provided that he would be allowed to teach this fall. He honestly wasn't sure what the future would hold for himself, or the two students sitting patiently in front of him.

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Because of the sedative properties of the animagus potion, it was determined that the teens could share Harry's bed this one time. Both were clothed in their pajamas, Harry now wearing some rather nice ones that Severus had bought for him after seeing what rags his others were. He had already cleaned out Harry's trunk and burned all of the rags that the Durleys had forced upon the child. He and Remus had taken the time to shop for all of Harry's clothes, making sure the boy had new dress shoes, trainers, bedroom slippers, underwear, t-shirts, pajamas, slacks, blue jeans, dress shirts and pull overs, jumpers, and several robes and cloaks. Severus had even purchased the boy a new heavy winter cloak to wear. Harry had been overjoyed at the sight of all the new clothing, and had hugged all three of the men for being so thoughtful.

Severus stood before the teens, as well as Sirius, Remus, and Minerva. He had in his hands two vials of deep violet colored potion; the potion that would hopefully allow the teens to find out if they could become animagus'. Sirius had Hermione lay down next to Harry and then Severus gave them both the vials of potion. The teens looked at each other and smiled, then quickly drank down the potion. Both of them grimaced slightly at the aftertaste, and handed the empty vials back to the potions master. After only a minute of time, both teens gasped and closed their eyes, each seeing all kinds of animals all around them. Harry was amazed at how many animals were just sitting right next to him, and suddenly felt compelled to reach out to touch one that was sitting particularly close to him.

Harry sighed in his sleep, mumbling about how soft something was, and how big something was. He then quickly succumbed to the potion and was now sleeping peacefully, a slight smile on his face.

Hermione was also amazed at the animals that suddenly appeared around her. She saw many baby animals, and several winged creatures that stayed in the background. Then she noticed a beautiful creature walk up to her and sit down next to her. She reached over and began to wind her fingers into it's soft...

Hermione visibly relaxed into the bed, and sighed deeply, also muttering about something being soft and large. Her hand then snaked its way over to grasp Harry's, and once she touched his hand, their fingers quickly intertwined together. Both children sighed once again and fell into a deep, cleansing sleep, one that would help Harry continue to heal from the physical trauma he had been through, and from the emotional stress. The men standing around the teens each remarked how peaceful and happy Harry looked while sleeping.

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It was mid-morning when the teens began to wake up. Harry began to stir first, and he quickly became aware of a bushy head of hair in his face, as well as a weight across his legs and chest. He pushed the hair out of his eyes and confirmed it belonged to his girlfriend. He glanced down at his body and noticed that one of Hermione's legs was lying across his own, and her arm was draped over his chest. He couldn't help but sigh as he realized just how right it felt just lying there next to her, with her being as close as she could without actually lying on top of him. Maybe this was how his mum and dad woke up, them both lying close to each other, arms and legs entwined, and just gazing at each other, Harry thought to himself.

_Hang on! Gazing? _Harry's thoughts quickly became a reality as he noticed that his love was lying there looking right back at him. He was about to start apologizing, but Hermione quickly leaned over and kissed him. Both teens then giggled, each realizing that the other tasted like the potion they had ingested the night before.

_The potion! _They both quickly sat up on the bed, huge smiles on both of their faces.

Harry jumped out of the bed and threw open the door.

"Remus, Sirius, Severus, where are you?"

A thunderous sound of feet was heard scrambling up the stairs, which caused the children to start giggling once again. Severus was the first to enter the bedroom, his face bright with anticipation. Sirius and Remus quickly followed. Hermione then asked, "Where's Minerva? I know she would have wanted to be here to find out what our animagus forms were going to be."

"She, unfortunately, had to go back to Hogwarts. She said she didn't want to leave the Headmaster alone for too long. There's no telling what sort of havoc he's been committing while still trying to find you." Sirius barked out a loud laugh as Remus explained.

Both of the teens were disappointed to learn that their Transfiguration professor would not be there to enjoy this moment, but they knew that one of the adults could put the memory into a pensieve and she would be able to see it.

Hermione looked over at Harry, both teens grinning at each other, each knowing that what they had to say would blow the roof off of Grimmauld Place!

Hermione cleared her throat. "Well, the animal I saw that came up to me and allowed me to pet it was a unicorn!"

The expected stunned silence only lasted for a few seconds before Sirius grabbed the girl and gave her a huge hug, swinging her off of her feet. "Congratulations, Hermione. I knew you would be something special, but a unicorn? I don't believe I've ever heard of anyone becoming a unicorn."

Severus and Remus both gave Hermione their congratulations and then all eyes and ears turned toward a very nervous Harry. He swallowed thickly, telling himself there was nothing to be scared of, and that everyone there loved him and supported him.

Hermione noticed her boyfriend's shakiness, and quickly took his hand into hers. This instantly calmed the boy down, and with a nod from his godfather, he proceeded.

"Um, well, at first there were so many animals all around, I was afraid that none of them would get close to me. But finally this beautiful winged horse came over and bowed down to me. I think it was a Pegasus..."

He didn't get to finish as his godfather and Remus both had him in a huge crushing bear hug.

"While you two are crushing the child, I will offer my congratulations on achieving another impossible feat! A winged Pegasus...that is remarkable. I am truly proud of you, Harry."

Harry finally got himself untangled from Sirius and Remus. "Thank you, sir. I was pretty amazed myself. Do you want to know about the other animals I saw?"

Harry's question brought stunned silence yet again from the three men. Severus was the first to find his voice.

"You mean to say that you saw more than one animal in your vision? Just how many did you see? What were they?"

The excited potions master couldn't help but imagine the possibilities of all the different animals Harry could become, and supplying him with an endless source of feathers, hair, tears, venom, and other items for his many potions.

Harry was watching Severus nervously, but went ahead. "Well, once the Pegasus sat down next to me, a phoenix flew over and started nudging my cheek, sort of like Fawkes does when I'm up in the headmaster's office. But this phoenix was more beautiful than Fawkes. It was a brilliant red and orange and gold, with some soft purple colored feathers mixed in, with bright green eyes, like mine, and I could understand what he was thinking. Then he flew up and landed on my shoulder. Then the last animal came to me."

Harry paused for a moment, listening to everyone commenting on the impossibility of becoming a phoenix animagus, let alone having two forms. It was after a few moments that Severus noticed the fearful look on the young boy's face and stepped forward and had Harry sit down on the edge of the bed. Hermione sat behind him and rubbed his shoulders in a comforting way. Severus finally got the rest of the men to cease their excited bickering to notice that Harry was a bit upset.

Sirius quickly said, "Oh Harry, I'm so sorry. We were just so excited for you. What's wrong? Why are you upset now?"

Harry sighed deeply and replied softly, "Well, it's just that this last animal that came up to me is...a...well...it's a snake."

At first, Sirius and Remus were both unsure what to say to allay Harry's fears, but Severus jumped right in and gave the child a big hug. Then he put both of his hands on the boy's shoulders and looked at him intently.

"Ok, Harry. I want you to think about this for a moment. What kind of snake was it? What color, how long, was it poisonous or not. Tell me everything you can about it," Severus asked excitedly.

"Well, it's big, long, about 7 feet, with multicolored scales on his belly, sort of iridescent, and the top part of the scales were black. There also seemed to be something on both sides of the snake, not sure if they were limbs or something else. Yes, it's poisonous. He told me that when we talked. He also said he could choose not to inject venom when he bites if he so desires. He was quite beautiful."

Harry couldn't help the soft smile that appeared on his face at watching how Severus was dancing around the room. The potions master then has his friends join him in a very interesting version of a ring dance. The men were just jumping and leaping around the room to the point that Harry could no longer contain the laughter building up inside of him. He let loose laughing so hard that tears began pouring out of his eyes. Hermione has also fell victim to this strange dance and was also having trouble wiping the tears out of her eyes as she also watched the 3 men cavort around the room.

But, as quickly as it had begun, it was finally over, all three men now sitting down on conjured chairs, drinking deeply of the ice cold water that Dobby had quietly popped in with. Once Severus had recovered from his frolicking, he took a deep breath and began to ask questions.

"Now Harry, this snake...you said it had some kind of limbs or something on it's sides. Could they have been wings, folded up?" The potions master inquired.

"Hm, now that you said that, yes, I think they were wings. I remember thinking that it was strange for a snake to have wings. Then I remembered something I read in in one of my books about a rare snake that had wings...a Quazi...something..."

"That's a Quetzalcoatl, Harry," giggled Hermione. "It's either a feather snake or a winged snake popular in the Mayan culture."

"Yes, that's what he said," replied Harry. "But, he did say he was a bit different from the one in mythology. He said he would become more of what I needed. I can't wait to find out what that means."

Severus was still in shock upon hearing about the teen's three animagus forms, and such rare and priceless forms at that! His head was spinning at the thought of all of those impossible to find potions ingredients. He sat quietly, observing how excited Harry looked while talking with his girlfriend, and how comfortable they looked with each other. He knew that with the two of them bonding so deeply at such an early age, that as their magic developed together, they would be an unstoppable couple, and maybe the wizarding world might just stand a chance in defeating Voldemort once and for all.

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Hi everyone! Yes, it's me! I finally got around to getting this chapter posted. I'm not going to make a bunch of excuses, mainly because I don't have any...I've just been lazy...and just haven't had any ideas to get me motivated. I hope to have finally fixed that problem.

Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading this story and a very special thanks for those who have left reviews! I thank you with all my heart!

Ok...next chapter will have Ron and more Dumbledore...and who knows what else! See ya soon!

Nita


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